Another Girl, Another Zombie: Another Way
by CallMeLy
Summary: The Bronzo AU. On their first day at Seabrook High School, Bree and Bonzo are separated from their friends, Addison and Zed, during a Z-alert, and in all the panic, they find each other. A retelling of ZOMBIES if Bronzo had met at the same time as Zeddison, inspired by a Tumblr anon
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

And now, my first proper multichap ZOMBIES fic~! This is the Bronzo AU, inspired by a lovely Tumblr anon from a while ago who asked me how the Bronzo relationship might work out if they had met sooner - specifically, during the Z-alert, at the same time Zeddison first met. I wrote a pretty long answer and ended up deciding it needed its own fic, so here it is. And this first chapter is based on that answer

The basic idea here is that I'm essentially rewriting ZOMBIES, from Bree and Bonzo's POVs, with them having their own story alongside Addison and Zed. The Big Project should be coming soon enough, and another one-shot collection centred around the BG zombies called Limelight~

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Chapter 1

This was it, this was the day. This was gonna be her year.

Bree, more than a little excited for the day ahead, had arrived at Seabrook High School slightly early. She decided to ignore the fence separating the new zombie students still to appear. Instead, she gazed up at the tall building in front of her, gripping tightly onto the straps of her backpack and unable to stop herself from letting out a shrill squeak. Most people would usually be nervous about their first day of high school but Bree wasn't thinking about the classes or the awkward attempts at making friends. Her mind was already on the end of the day, when she'd be trying out for the cheer squad. Ever since she was a little girl, Bree had been watching the Mighty Shrimp winning year after year at the regional championships and they had truly inspired her.

She wanted nothing more than to join them. Especially if it meant she could fly like she'd seen those girls on the squad fly.

Looking around at the few other students that were already congregating nearby, though, Bree felt her good feelings fizzle out. Not by much, but enough. She was used to the judgemental looks her glasses earned her around Seabrook but that didn't make it any less discouraging. Almost everyone who needed some kind of corrective lenses opted for contacts; after all, who would _want_ the rest of the town to know they weren't as perfect as them? Bree had tried wearing contacts before but she just couldn't handle how uncomfortable, sometimes even painful, they were for her. And she had to go to the next town over to get her glasses, they weren't even available in Seabrook it was so rare.

Her smile dropped and Bree ducked her head self-consciously, her hair hiding her face from the stares.

There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere as a crowd made its way towards the school. Bree was quickly forgotten and quite literally pushed aside as people desperately fought for a chance to see the Mighty Shrimp's Captain Bucky and his three assistant captains, the Aceys. Distracted, Bree's happy mood returned and she tried her best to get a look for herself.

On the other side of the fence, the zombies were coming into view. Bucky approached them, followed by his posse, facing down a boy who seemed like he could be the zombies' leader, or some kind of equivalent to Bucky, at least.

It wasn't long before things took a turn. As Bree was about to go inside, Bucky took a step forward, mocking the zombie next to the "leader" – one much taller than he was – only for him to lunge towards him and grab the fence. Bucky shrieked and jumped away, as did the other students surrounding him, but there was a patrol officer nearby ready to diffuse the situation.

Something inside Bree made her stop and watch. The zombie who had scared Bucky seemed confused, like he didn't realise what he'd done wrong. The leader, his friend, she assumed, was defending him. Bree heard the taller one ask something in Zombie-tongue, which was surprising in and of itself seeing as she had heard the zombies didn't need to use their old language anymore, and he reached out a hand to the officer. His friend interjected again.

"No…! She does _not_ want a hug."

Bree frowned. Was that really what he was trying to do? He nodded, giving the officer a smile and Bree wasn't sure whether he had understood or not. But then he glanced over to the humans' side again, sweeping his gaze over the students filing in through the door. Right as he was about to catch her eye, Bree turned away and followed the others inside.

Her first priority was signing up for cheer try-outs and just as she was doing so, Bucky's voice came from the staircase behind her.

"Cheer try-outs today after school, everybody," he called, causing Bree to spin around in excitement, "Let's go, Mighty Shrimp!"

Bree clapped and ran over, "Go, bottom feeders!"

And just like that, Bucky and the Aceys were gone. She tried to backtrack but it didn't do her any good. Her face fell only for a moment until she realised someone was still there.

"Hi, I'm Bree. And I've always dreamed of being on the cheer squad," she couldn't help rambling, "'Cause I really wanna be a flyer… tossed high in the sky…!"

She was ecstatic when the girl's smile widened. Clearly, she had just met a fellow cheer lover.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

The zombies descended the stairs, Bonzo not paying much heed to the problems they'd no doubt be facing for quite some time to come. He easily brushed off the patrol officer not wanting a hug, despite Zed and Eliza's concern. As they started down the steps, they were each handed a sheet of paper with their schedules by a rather uneasy-looking woman Bonzo guessed was a teacher or secretary or something. The schedules weren't much more than a short list of subjects and it looked like they would only get a short lunch break.

Their classroom, if you could even call it that, really did end up to be another dingy basement. As the visibly agitated teacher, Mr Zeck, introduced himself and the principal to the new students, Bonzo stood and looked around the room. He didn't really know what to make of it, just that it definitely wasn't… _good_.

Principal Lee made her way to the door but Bonzo and his friends didn't move. He decided to just forget the obvious problems for the time being, already excited at the idea of joining the humans' music class. As Zed and Eliza asked about the football team and computer club, Bonzo tried to calm himself enough to ask about it for himself but he could only manage to spit out one word of Zombie.

"Gruzic…?"

Zed jumped in to translate, "Right, music class! Bonzo's an artist, he's classically trained."

Feeling confident, Bonzo raised his tuba to his lips and blew, then belted out a high note. He only stopped when he felt Zed squeeze his shoulder. It took him a moment to realise Principal Lee was less than impressed, and what's more, that she wasn't going to let any of them out of the basement before the final bell rang. His smile slowly faded and he lowered his arms as she hurried out of the basement. Mr Zeck's lack of motivation didn't do much to lighten the mood but Bonzo and Eliza went to take a seat nonetheless.

"Well, I guess this is it, boys. We upgraded from a barren wasteland to zombie containment lite."

"Grag gezer zongro," _It could be worse_ , Bonzo shrugged, "Za, Zed-" he turned to find Zed gone, "… Zedka?"

No sign of him. Bonzo quickly sat down beside Eliza.

"Geh, Elizaka. Gozrea Zedka?" _Where's Zed?_

"He-" Eliza stopped when she noticed Zed was missing, then squeezed her eyes shut and slumped her shoulders, "Oh, for the love of Z, he didn't… Please tell me he didn't…"

"… Gra'zon." _I can't._

They looked at each other for a few seconds, but neither of them were about to risk going after him. He was bound to hit a wall sooner or later. He always did.

And then a siren was blaring.

The panic set in instantly. Zombies flew from their chairs, afraid and confused. As far as they knew, a siren like that meant fire. And the fear of fire was engrained so deeply into their subconscious, they couldn't listen to reason. Mr Zeck, being experienced enough in this from his years as the school janitor, tried to quiet them down but no-one was listening.

"Fire?"

"Bonzo. There's no fire." Except for Eliza, apparently.

But Bonzo was already spiralling straight into a meltdown. The sound of the siren seemed to amplify and the yelling and chaos in the room wasn't helping. Eliza recognised the signs straight away and grabbed him before he could run, his eyes frantically trying to look anywhere but at hers.

"Look," she tried to keep her voice steady but it was hard when everyone was needlessly screaming around her, "We have come way too far to still be afraid of-"

Wait. He wasn't taking any of this in, not in his current state. If she said the word now, it would probably be the only thing he heard. But she realised too late, and loosened her grip on him.

"… Fire…" It was only a whisper but just as she expected, Bonzo heard it loud and clear.

" _Fire!_ "

"Bonzo…!"

He bolted for the door but before he could so much as touch the handle, it opened from the other side, right in his face, and he was knocked to the ground. The zombie patrol barged their way in and Bonzo pressed himself against the wall behind the door, covering his ears and closing his eyes. It didn't help, the noise still got through. He peeked around the door just as the last officer entered and saw Eliza storming over to the far wall, along with the others. She couldn't help him. In the midst of his panic, though, Bonzo remembered Zed, still somewhere upstairs. Before the door could swing closed, he crawled around, careful to not be seen, and slipped out.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

"I know this is scary, Bree, but there's a zombie safe room right there," Addison seemed so _calm_ , Bree couldn't understand it, "It'll be OK!"

Bree looked past Addison. There _was_ a zombie safe room there.

There was also a zombie.

Letting out a scream, she turned and ran off down the hall, too fast for Addison to catch up to her. Little did she know, somewhere around a corner was another zombie. A taller one. Who was just as scared as she was.

Bonzo had tried to stay out of sight of the humans but he soon found that wasn't really possible when they were running past him in all directions, each of them screaming and shouting when they saw him. But eventually, he was left alone. They were running _from_ him, after all. He hadn't found Zed yet, though, and he wasn't going back downstairs alone.

Bree kept running blindly. She turned down a now-empty hallway, not even registering how lost she had gotten herself. Ahead of her, she could hear pounding footsteps. Maybe it was another freshman just as lost as she was in the panic. But they were coming towards her. She didn't have time to think about it because whoever it was came sprinting around the corner and they collided.

They both took a few seconds to steady themselves on their feet again then Bree looked up, _up_ , stammering out an apology as she did.

"I am _so_ sorry, are y-" she saw the dark clothes first, then grey skin, red eyes and green hair, and she jumped back in fright, " _Ahh, zombie…!_ "

Eyes wide with fear, Bonzo grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her and covering her mouth with one hand. He pulled her back around the corner as he heard voices not too far in the distance and desperately shushed her. Bree was shaking in his grasp but he barely noticed. He waited for the voices to pass and slowly let her go, only for her to shriek again as soon as he moved his hand. He faced her, bending down closer to her level and clapped both hands over her mouth, looking at her pleadingly. He waited, tilting his head forward in question, and when she nodded he took his hands away again.

The zombie from that morning. The one who had lunged at Bucky.

Frozen, she could barely squeak out "You're a-" before he put his hands back. She pushed him off.

"What are y-"

He did it again.

"But-"

And again.

" _Stop that!_ "

This time, he took a step back, looking down guiltily. Bree came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to hurt her when she saw his sorry, even sheepish expression. That just confused her. She had always believed that zombies were incapable of such things, of feeling guilt or regret or concern for anyone. And they certainly didn't get shy. Did they…? Bree was silent for a short while, trying to wrap her head around it.

Her lips parted and her head tipped to one side as she looked down and frowned in confusion. It was… cute… Bonzo felt something in his chest jump. Was that his heart?

He was stirred from his thoughts when she spoke.

"So, wait… why are you up here? Did _you_ set off the Z-alert?"

"Z… Zer-garzert…?"

"Um, th-the alarm?"

Which was still sounding.

Bonzo shook his head.

"Garzen zav," _my friend left_ , "Zongry, ag zorog…" _It was loud, I was scared…_

"Wait, wait, I-I can't understand you."

He went quiet again. He was still coming out of his meltdown and he wasn't going to be able to get it out in English as things were.

"I saw another zombie before," Bree said and he perked up, "I think I saw you with him outside this morning. With the spiked-up hair…?" Bonzo nodded, "You were looking for him?"

He nodded again, "Za!"

"So, _he_ set off the alarm. And _you_ …" she thought for a moment, about how frantic he had been, how anxious he was to keep her quiet, "… You got scared?"

"Za…" he looked down again, slightly embarrassed.

"Hey, it's OK, it's OK! I totally get it!"

He smiled, looking at her from under his grass-green hair with his head still ducked. Bree's face flushed and she forced down the fluttering in her chest. Her fingers came up to absentmindedly twirl a lock of hair. … Was he staring at her, or her glasses?

"Uh, I-I could," she started, "Show you where I saw him, maybe?"

She could probably find her way back to the safe room, right?

She was shocked when his face lit up and he hugged her in response. A little too tight, but it was oddly endearing. He was so unlike what she had expected of a zombie; nothing like the image that had been put into her head of lumbering monsters with no regard for anyone or anything but their own bloodlust. As she stepped back out of the hug, she noticed the obviously homemade tuba he carried on a string and the round, leather case strapped to his back. Hoping to be discreet, she craned her neck round briefly when they started walking to see it was covered in patterns and what she assumed were Zombie letters, brushes and pens sticking out of the pockets on the back. So he was an artist. Not at all like what she had been raised to believe.

Bonzo noticed how she was staring at them. He patted the side of the tuba.

"Gruzic."

"I'm guessing that means 'music', right?"

"Za."

"Are you going out for music class, then?"

He looked away.

"… They won't let you, will they?"

He shook his head.

"Sorry… I bet they would've been lucky to have you."

He shot her a small smile in thanks and she grinned back.

"I'm kinda hoping to make the cheer squad, myself."

The slightly one-sided conversation continued as they walked the hallways and eventually made it back to the zombie safe room where Bree had last seen Addison. There wasn't anybody around so Bonzo took a few steps further down the hall.

"Zedka…?"

Nothing.

Bree tried the door of the safe room, thinking if someone was in there, they might have seen the other zombie and could know which direction he went in, but it was locked. She huffed and turned back to Bonzo.

"I don't know where else to look," she said, "How about I show you how to get back to the basement? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

He kept following her but just as they were approaching the doors to the stairwell, they burst open. The zombie patrol was back. Both Bonzo and Bree stopped in their tracks. Bonzo, acting on instinct, pulled Bree close to him and brought both of them behind the line of lockers along one wall. Where there wasn't very much room for the two of them. Bree found herself face-to-chest with the (frankly, unnecessarily tall) zombie, trying to stand at an angle to avoid either facing him directly or with her back to him. Their eyes met and they both quickly looked away, giggling awkwardly and clearing their throats. The patrol passed them by and didn't see them, but they heard a small snippet of what one officer was reporting into a walkie-talkie.

"… two zombies unaccounted for in the basement…"

That wasn't good.

Bonzo looked down at Bree, knowing he should go. But, for some reason, he didn't want to. And Bree didn't want him to go, either. He was interesting. She wanted to get to know him. He wanted to get to know her.

Still, he had to tear himself away if he didn't want to deal with the patrol or them calling his parents. But he lingered for a short moment in front of Bree. The siren had stopped some time ago. They could both hear the other human students returning to the hallways, nervously chattering and gossiping about the so-called "rogue zombies".

This boy wasn't a _rogue zombie_ , he was…

Oh. Wait.

Just as Bonzo was losing hope that the girl would want to stay a little longer, just as he was about to walk away, she gently tugged on his sleeve. He stopped and looked down at her.

"… I didn't get your name."

She bit her lip. He smiled and she smiled back.

"Bonzo."

"I'm Bree."

They stood there for a second or two more, then Bree broke her eyes away from him and glanced down the hall. A couple of kids were coming into view now.

"You better go," she slipped out from behind the lockers and his smile dropped, "Before anyone sees you."

Nodding, Bonzo turned towards the door. He looked back for a moment and gave Bree a small wave, then he was gone. Bree took a deep breath in, and out again.

She had to find Addison.

She took off down the hall, passing by the safe room, and eventually saw Addison up ahead, being lectured by Bucky with Lacey, Stacey and Tracey close behind them.

"I'm only saying this because I _care_ about you, Addison. You have _got_ to be more careful now, those things could be anywhere…!" Addison tried to interrupt him but he wouldn't let her, "And if you want to be on the squad, you can't risk your reputation by talking to them."

Addison fell back slightly as the Aceys brushed past her and followed Bucky down the hall like a trio of puppies. Bree, closer now, called out.

"Addy, wait up…!"

All five of them turned around. Addison grinned when she saw her but her cousin just sneered and led the Aceys away.

"Bree, you will never guess what just happened to me!"

"It can't be any weirder than what just happened to _me_!"

"On three?"

"One… two… three… _I met a zombie…!_ "

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Eliza's head snapped up at the sound of the door opening. She paid no attention to Mr Zeck's attempt to get her or Bonzo, who had just walked on with a wide grin on his face, to sit down and get back to work.

"Bonz, where have you _been_? Did you see Zed? What happened, are you alright?"

If he even heard her questions, he was ignoring them.

"Elizaka, gra'zon ru garzedd-zig…!"

 _You're not gonna believe this…!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

A much shorter chapter today, but chapter 3 should be longer and should also be coming sooner, if all goes well. There isn't really anything to say about this one, a slightly altered scene from canon and an added scene, mostly just a transition between chapters 1 and 3 but one thing does happen here

I've started the BG zombies fic, Limelight, so if you'd like to know more about the movie's unnamed zombies, go and check it out and let me know what you think~!

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Chapter 2

At the end of the day, Bonzo followed Eliza and Zed out of the "classroom" and towards the stairs. Eliza hadn't been too pleased to hear about how he met Bree, and how he didn't even find Zed while he was upstairs when that was the whole reason he left. But then Zed had walked in, looking dejected. He hadn't made the football team, but when he told them that he had met a cheerleader in the panic of the Z-alert, Bonzo's face lit up and the story spilled out all over again, much to Eliza's disdain.

Now, though, Zed had gone back to griping about not making the team. Eliza was sick of it.

"Football's stupid, anyway."

"Thanks for the pep talk…!"

Bonzo, in between them, winked at Zed, "Vi deh greeska egrall, varkra, za?" _It'd work if the cheerleader said it, right?_ He jabbed him with an elbow and they both grinned.

Eliza rolled her eyes, "The cheerleader. Right. The one that punched you? In the face?" Bonzo snorted and Eliza turned to him instead, "Oh, like you're any better! You met a cheerleader, too, and she just kept screaming. You actually had to cover her mouth and physically _pick her up_ and move her so nobody would see you. I can't believe you two, you were right in the middle of a Z-alert, there were humans literally running away from you but then you see one pretty face and suddenly, they're not so bad, maybe we can get along!" She batted her eyelashes mockingly, clasping her hands together under her chin, and stormed off ahead of them.

The boys watched her for a second. Bonzo leaned down towards Zed and mumbled, "Greh zrayn z'agru zreene greeska." _Just wait till she meets a cheerleader._

Eliza heard him, though, and spun around again at the bottom of the staircase to shoot him a glare. "Don't even go there."

She pointed at the wall but Bonzo had already seen it.

" _NO ZOMBIES!"_

His smile dropped and his shoulders sagged. Eliza kept going.

"Look, humans are bad, but cheerleaders are monsters. Things need to change."

She was already walking up the stairs. Zed stood staring at the graffiti. Bonzo, though, wasn't going to just take this on the chin. He took out a thick, green marker from his fanny pack and gently nudged Zed's arm.

"Gra'zon droz zama," _they can't all be the same_ , he scrawled a 'K' in front of the word "NO", "Agz gezer garzedd-zig," _we know better_ , then a 'W' after it, "Grog durg, za?" _It's already changing, right?_

He put the cap back on the marker and turned to Zed, a smile stretching across his face. As Zed thought about it and nodded, Bonzo threw an arm over his shoulders and they headed upstairs after Eliza.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

" _Let the cheer initiation begin!"_

It took a little pleading from Addison, but Bree had landed herself a spot on the cheer squad. Only as a stand-in, sure, but it was something. She had a chance. The two of them, along with another girl named Jessica, were escorted to the cheer lounge by the Aceys. Upon arriving, Stacey and Tracey presented them each with a package.

"Your uniforms," Lacey informed them, "Get changed and wait here for us to come get you, OK?"

They all nodded and took the packages. The Aceys left quickly, Lacey briefly pausing at the door to tell them "And don't leave this room," before closing it behind her.

Jessica didn't say a word to them for some time, until Addison tried to say hello to her.

"There's no point in trying to be friendly, here. You're only here because the captain is your cousin," she snapped, then glanced dismissively at Bree, her eyes lingering on her glasses, "And you're only here because of _her_."

She stayed as far away from them as possible. The room was so quiet, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Once Bree was in her uniform, she noticed Addison was looking at her. More specifically, she was looking at her glasses. Bree couldn't read her expression; she looked thoughtful, questioning. She had to be wondering why Bree wore them instead of contacts. Under her gaze, Bree was gradually growing more and more self-conscious.

"… I know, I need to just grow up and learn to wear contact lenses, but I-"

"No!" Addison's eyes went wide, "No, that's not it!"

"Then what is it?"

She hesitated, nervously playing with her hair.

"Addy…?"

Addison turned around to look at Jessica. She stood with her back to them, looking at the shelves of trophies and pom-poms. She wasn't paying attention to them. Bree placed a reassuring hand on her arm and she looked back at her.

"This is a wig…" she held up a lock of her blonde hair, voice low and eyes on the floor, "My hair's not… _normal_. I can't dye it or anything and I just… I hide it. I've always hidden it. You don't hide."

"I… I can't, I've tried…" she struggled to find the words, too distracted by what Addison had just told her.

"But you _could_. You could force yourself to, like I do, but you _don't_."

"I'm still scared, though. I don't really have a choice, I can't wear contacts. I don't wear these 'cause I want to make a statement or 'cause I have any confidence, I'm scared. And I'd be scared of _something_ either way."

"But that's why it's brave. Even if people talk, or if they expect you to do things their way, you're still choosing to wear glasses when nobody here does. Even if it makes you different, you're looking out for yourself. And… I just couldn't do that."

Bree couldn't help but smile. Not one single person had ever seen it that way.

"Addy…?" she said tentatively and Addison looked at her, nervous, running a hand through her hair – or rather, wig, "What does your real hair look like?"

She regretted asking the minute the words left her mouth. Addison's fingers tightened around the lock and she took a step back.

"You don't have to! You don't have to tell me or show me or anything, really! And whatever it is, I bet it's beautiful."

"You might not say that if you saw it."

Bree didn't get a chance to respond. The door opened and Bucky walked in, flanked by the Aceys.

"Well, newbies. It's time to go."

"Go where?"

"You'll see."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

I was hoping to post it yesterday but I literally fell asleep writing. This is a relatively long chapter but it's pretty much entirely altered canon scenes. It'll diverge from canon more again in the next chapter, if the idea I have in mind works out. I have to figure something out for the next chapter, still, and I don't know how long it will take. If I can't get it figured out, though, I'll have to go with my original idea which will just be more altered canon so I really want to get it done. Hopefully, you'll understand when you read it~ But for now, we have to get through these scenes before any of that stuff can happen. I was going to update Limelight yesterday as well but I hit a block. I'm mostly out of it now, though, so Limelight will be up either tonight or tomorrow

* * *

Chapter 3

Curfew had just barely started when Bonzo heard the sounds of screams and tires screeching outside. His head snapped up, suddenly distracted from his sketching and he stood up. Putting the sketchbook aside, Bonzo hurried down the staircase and out the front door. It happened every year without fail – on the first day of school, some teenagers, specifically cheerleaders, would sneak into Zombie Town to cause trouble. He never understood why they did it on this particular day, but maybe he could find out tonight.

Maybe Bree would be there.

He hoped she wasn't.

If she was there, if she was joining in on their cruel pranks… Well, she wouldn't, would she? Bree may have been scared of him at first, but it wasn't malicious. In the end, she'd wanted to help him. She was nice to him.

Bonzo stood outside, looking up and down the street but seeing no potential culprits. They must have driven off already. He heard another door open and Zed hopped off his porch opposite, checking for himself, then caught sight of Bonzo and the two shared a look of confusion. Neither of them could even see any signs of vandalism. Something moved out the corner of Bonzo's eye and he frowned – a flash of pink. You never saw pink in Zombie Town, and certainly not that bright a shade. From behind the fence, just a few feet from where Zed was standing, a face peaked out.

An all-too-familiar face framed with a pair of glasses.

" _Breeska?_ " his voice was soft with hurt but it rang loud and clear in the dead silence. She hid again.

Zed took a few steps forward and tilted his head to see around the corner. When Bonzo saw his face fall, he guessed _his_ cheerleader was there too. Zed turned back to Bonzo with no idea what to say or do. However, Bonzo's eyes were fixed on the exact spot where he had seen Bree's face. He couldn't deny it now. After only a moment, he looked at Zed, shaking his head. He threw up his arms and stormed back inside, just as Zed's dad called out.

"Zed? Anybody there?"

Bonzo paused, watching him. He hesitated.

"Uh…" he avoiding looking back at the fence, or at Bonzo, "No. Nobody."

Bonzo closed the door behind him.

He didn't see the look of guilt on Bree's face.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

She should have said something. Either of them could have said something. They didn't have to hide but they couldn't change that now.

It was the following morning and Bree had always thought she'd be so happy the day she walked into school wearing her Mighty Shrimp cheer uniform for the first time, but one single day had turned everything around. She spotted Addison talking to Bucky by the fence outside and was about to call out to her when Bucky brushed a lock of blonde hair back and smiled at his cousin in such a twistedly sweet way it made her freeze. Bree watched her friend's eyes drop to the ground as Bucky went inside and she hurried over.

"Addy…?"

"Bree!" Addison spun around when she heard her voice.

"Are you OK? Did you talk to Bucky about…?"

"He won't listen," she said, shaking her head, "It doesn't matter, though, we have to fix things with Zed and Bonzo, first."

"Right now?"

"Right now." Addison promptly turned and strode towards the door, Bree following her.

"Human students aren't allowed down there, what are we gonna do if we get caught?"

"We'll just… say we were looking for the janitor or something. This is important."

Bree couldn't deny that, remembering how hurt Bonzo looked when he saw her behind the fence. The disappointment in his voice when he said her name. She couldn't leave him thinking she didn't care. When she met him the day before, he flipped every expectation she had of zombies in a matter of minutes. He was so scared, so vulnerable. She thought back on the way his face lit up when she offered to help him, how he hugged her in thanks, his shy smile. He deserved an explanation.

They could walk down the hallways towards the stairwell easily enough without arousing any suspicion but once they reached the doors, they had to be careful. They made it down one flight of empty stairs before coming to the one the zombie students entered the school onto. A couple of them were heading downstairs ahead of them and Bree and Addison kept their distance, not wanting to be seen until they came to the classroom. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, though, they each heard a familiar voice further along the hallway.

"I get rejected from the football team, you have a meltdown, things _seem_ like they're getting better when we both meet cheerleaders and I'm so ready to rub it in Eliza's face..."

"Hey!" a zombie girl in between them snapped but Zed ignored her.

"But no. Y'know, I actually thought she was cool."

"Za… Garzedd-zig agru zonzama," _I thought she was different_ , "Agz zozig. Greeska zazig zongro." _We were wrong. Cheerleaders really are terrible._

Neither of the girls could understand exactly what he said, but they could tell it wasn't good. From behind, they could only see the way both of their shoulders sagged and their heads drooped. The girl – Eliza, assumedly – nodded.

"I told you," she sounded just slightly sympathetic, "Maybe you'll listen next time."

Bree and Addison stood behind them in the doorway of the classroom – which wasn't really a classroom, but the boiler room, it seemed – feeling so much regret yet so much determination.

Somewhere at the front, Mr Zeck, the janitor, looked up and saw them. He frowned, raising a hand.

"Wh- there's no human students in the basement!"

Everyone, including Bonzo and Zed, immediately turned around at that. Voices muttered to one another and Addison was quick to make an excuse.

"Uh, someone yacked in the cafeteria."

Mr Zeck mumbled something to himself and gathered his cleaning supplies. Bree was hardly paying attention, though. She could feel Bonzo's eyes on her, but she kept her head down.

Zed took a step closer but Bonzo just stood there, staring at her.

"Wow," Addison breathed, "This is… awful."

"Yeah, we would've cleaned but the teacher's territorial about his mop."

Bree's head jerked up at Eliza's sarcastic tone. Then again, she couldn't really blame her. They were intruding, after all. And Eliza didn't seem like she'd had any positive run-ins with cheerleaders like her friends. Mr Zeck had left the room but Bree stayed behind Addison.

"Addison, what are you doing here?"

"Apologising. My cousin, he's a jerk about zombies, and last night was cheer initiation," Bree nudged her, "Not that that's a good excuse! I… I'm so sorry."

Bree risked glancing at Bonzo. He was still staring, but his expression had softened.

"Breeska?"

She took a few steps towards him, letting Addison talk to Zed, and finally lifted her head, "We didn't know. Bucky never told us what he wanted us to do or that we'd even be going to Zombie Town or anything. We-" she sighed, "I never would've agreed to it if I'd known. I'm sorry."

The smallest hint of a smile appeared on his lips.

"You forgive me?"

He nodded, "Za."

His smile broke into a grin and she couldn't help returning it. He went to reach out, like he was going to hug her, but Addison interrupted.

"See you at the pep rally this afternoon?"

Bree perked up at the idea but Eliza had other thoughts.

"Zombies don't do pep rallies."

Bree had to bite back a giggle when Bonzo pouted at her.

"It'll be fun!" Bree placed a hand on his arm and he looked down at her, "I mean, I won't actually be cheering, I'm just a stand-in, but I'll still be there. So…?"

The three zombies seemed to have a silent debate in only two seconds, Eliza clearly losing as Bonzo smiled again and Zed turned back to Addison.

"We'll think about it."

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bree was gripping the door of the cheer lounge with a combination of excitement and fear, watching for Bonzo and the other zombies. Were they really coming? Maybe Eliza ended up convincing them not to go. She was probably getting her hopes up for nothing.

Then she saw a flash of green. And another. A group of zombies, none of which she recognised, had just entered looking more than a little uncomfortable. Bree bit her lip. That was promising. She only had to wait a moment more before they came round the corner. Bree's face split into a grin and she whipped round to Addison.

"They're here!"

She realised too late that she should have been quieter. Addison quickly joined her but Bucky wasn't far behind.

" _Who's_ here?"

When he saw, he shot both of the girls a sharp glare. The Aceys appeared around him, gasping when they saw the zombies for themselves.

"Stacey, Tracey, Lacey, bust out the spirit sticks!"

Bree and Addison froze. They had been taught that all zombies feared fire. And Bree had seen just how scared Bonzo could be. As Bucky went to leave, she tried to stop him.

"Bucky, wait, what are you-"

"Look, I don't know what you're roping my cousin into here with these freaks but I'm not gonna stand for it. You're barely a full member of this squad and if you ever want to be a _real_ cheerleader, you'll learn your place. Got it?"

He didn't even wait for a response. Not even Addison could get him to listen. Bree, praying he'd reconsider in the moment, grabbed her pom-poms and made her way to her place in front of the bleachers.

When the music started and the squad ran out, her concerns were pushed aside. She could hear Bonzo chanting even from where she stood and she couldn't help turning to see. He was smiling and clapping and clearly ignoring whatever comment Eliza was making. Surely the spirit sticks wouldn't be enough to ruin his good mood, would they? She relaxed and let herself enjoy it.

Until the moment came and she heard something from behind – a hiss. Bree turned around to see every zombie in the crowd afraid, but none more than Bonzo. He had been the one to hiss and Zed was holding onto him, trying to reassure him. It didn't work, though, and Bonzo shoved him away. Bree lost sight of Zed as he fell but her attention was on Bonzo, forcing his way through the crowd and for a split second, Bree almost considered running to him. Bucky, standing at the front of the squad with a spirit stick held high, gave her a challenging look, and she instantly changed her mind. Bonzo was on the floor now but he didn't stop. Right as Addison was tossed into the air, Bonzo bolted for the door at the back of the gym with no regard for the other cheerleaders in his way. They ran, leaving Addison with no-one to catch her.

Apart from Zed, who seemed to appear from nowhere, his eyes oddly dark and black lines snaking across his skin. Bree was distracted by the sight of him and how he flew in to save Addison. Once she was safe, though, Bree looked around to find Bonzo was gone.

Zed had Addison covered so Bree headed for the door Bonzo had been running towards but a patrol officer strode over and pulled her back.

"We can't have you going out there with that zombie, he could be unstable."

She left without another word. Bree stood there, feeling useless, then heard another pair of footsteps behind her.

"What are you trying to do?" it was Eliza, "If you really cared about him as much you think you do, you wouldn't listen to her, you'd just _go_. You could've even stopped them from using those fire things in the first place!"

"I-I tried, I…"

"Save it. You don't understand what's going on with him. You don't know him. You can't help."

And she was gone, too.

Eliza's words had hit her hard. She was right. It wasn't Bree's place to go after Bonzo, they had barely known each other for a day. She really didn't understand.

When Bree returned to Addison's side, Zed wasn't there, either.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

Prepare yourselves, this is a long one~

This has taken over a week to get out, and that was mostly because of the idea I had. I was originally going to have Bree and Bonzo join Addison and Zed in the safe room but then I decided Someday is too sacred, it needs to be exclusive to Zeddison. So Bronzo needed something of their own, and I got so excited when I figured out where they could go instead. There's a long altered-canon scene leading up to it but I'm really proud of the Someday parallel scene here. My friends on Tumblr will know how much time and effort I've put into it *^*

And thanks to grumpy-tea-enthusiast on Tumblr for suggesting Eliza's nickname for Bree!

(Same music as Someday, with a slightly different tune. It's called Know Me, Know You)

* * *

Chapter 4

" _Hello, students, this is Principal Lee. As you may have heard, zombie students are now allowed to eat in the cafeteria."_

Despite the shock and disgust of the other students around them, Bree and Addison couldn't help sharing a look of pure joy.

" _Ugh… Just deal with it!"_

They both rolled their eyes. Nothing was going to dampen their good mood now. After the disaster of the pep rally, Bree was worried things were going even further downhill for the zombies but apparently, she was wrong. A door was opened by a pair of patrol officers and there they were, Bonzo and Zed (and Eliza), closely followed by a horde of nervous-looking zombies. That had to be why the tables in the far corner of the room – the ones by the trash cans – had been empty.

The new students made their way across the cafeteria, passing by the special, sectioned-off tables reserved for the cheer squad, and as they did, Bonzo smiled at her with a small wave. She went to wave back, shyly, but then she caught sight of Bucky at the captain's table. His brow was furrowed, his expression beyond disgusted. Bree dropped her hand and turned back around in her seat. Addison, however, hadn't seen the way Bucky was sneering, too focused on Zed looking back at her and smiling. Once the zombies had settled, Addison turned to Bree with a wide grin.

Bree, on the other hand, was slightly more… apprehensive.

" _If you really cared about him, you'd just_ go _."_

Eliza's words rang in her head, loud and clear.

" _You don't know him."_

She did _want_ to know him, though, wasn't that enough? But the real question at hand was _should_ she? What would it mean for Bree to get to know Bonzo, like, really know him? Where would that take her?

"Bree?" a voice said and a hand waved in front of her, "Are you OK, Bree?"

She blinked and looked up at Addison, who had torn her eyes away from Zed when she saw her friend's thoughtful expression.

"I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

"The… zombies…"

"Like, in general or like… _our_ zombies?"

Somehow, Bree felt both a flutter in her heart and a pit forming in her stomach at the thought of Bonzo as " _her zombie_ ".

"Well," she sighed, "I mean, is this a good idea? You saw what happened at the pep rally. What if Bucky just keeps trying to scare them off? Or what if it gets worse than that?"

"But they're _here_. They're _in_ the cafeteria. That's a good sign, right?"

"I guess…" she trailed off then noticed Addison was staring past her again with a dreamy smile on her face, "You are being a little too obvious, though. You know your cousin's watching."

Snapping out of it, Addison's eyes went wide and she turned back to Bree.

"I can't help it, he's right there!" she cast a brief glance over at Bucky, then leaned forward to whisper, "Besides, you'd be staring too if you were sitting here."

Addison smirked, took a sip of her juice and discreetly nodded towards the zombies' table. Bree frowned and turned around, understanding instantly. Bonzo was sitting with his back to her, but he was there in full view of her, juggling a handful of apples. Zed and Eliza sat opposite and Bree cringed inwardly at the sight of Eliza, but she found herself unable to look away, part of her wanting him to turn around and look at her, too.

Silently begging for him to turn around.

She only just caught herself smiling, no doubt with the same lovestruck expression as Addison, and quickly forced herself to look away.

"Addy. I just… Look, we have to be realistic here, nothing is going to happen! I mean, they probably don't even remember our names."

Addison's eyes dropped to the table and Bree felt a stab of guilt.

Addison nodded, dejected, "I guess you're right."

The thought made Bree sad, too, sadder than she'd like to admit, but it was the truth.

"Addison!"

She jerked around at the sound of Zed's voice.

 _OK, well, maybe not for him, but it's_ got _to be true for Bonzo._

Bonzo twisted round in his seat when Zed called out and Bree looked down again, only just too late. Their eyes had met for no more than a second but she had seen how his entire face lit up.

"Breeska!"

She let out a breath. Biting her lip did nothing to hide her smile. Addison's face broke into a grin and Bree was suddenly afraid. She had only known Addison for a couple of days but she knew that look already. She couldn't be swayed now.

"Well, we can't be rude…!"

"What?!"

"C'mon!"

"Wait, Addy, n-"

But she had already stood and grabbed Bree's hand, dragging her along with her. The entire room was silent. Everyone was watching them but Addison surged forward and Bree couldn't stop her. When they reached the zombies' table, the boys smiled at them.

"Hi! Um," Addison looked back at Bree, almost to reassure herself, then, "As they say in old Zombie-tongue, gazar nutty garzain garstick!"

Every zombie at the table laughed, though not cruelly. Bree kept herself from groaning and brought a hand to her temple, shaking her head. Zed and Bonzo shared a look of confusion.

"Um, you just thanked me for rubbing peanut butter on your umbrella," Zed said and Bree had to look away as Addison's face dropped.

She couldn't believe she was going to do this.

"I-I think she meant 'Gratzar nad grap garzree'."

Addison, surprised, shot her a questioning look.

"Yeah, I might have looked up a few things after I met Bonzo…"

"Well, that's probably a lot closer to what you meant, but," Zed sucked in a breath through his teeth, "I think you still need to work on it."

The girls both blushed but Addison shook it off first, "We meant, 'welcome to the cafeteria'."

While Zed smiled and thanked her, Bonzo was trying to get Bree's attention.

"Breeska…?" she looked down to see him holding up his cupped hands to her, "Zu ru." _For you._

He opened them to reveal a rose made from the apple peels and Bree softened, almost every doubt she had about the situation gone.

"Thank you!"

Almost.

"OK, what are Perky Von Cheerstick and Bubbles McPep doing here? The point of having our own table is to avoid people like them."

Bree and Addison started talking over one another, unaware of the Aceys approaching behind them.

"Oh, no, I just wanted to thank Zed for-"

"I just wanted to see if Bonzo was alright after-"

Both of their explanations were cut short when Stacey took hold of Addison's arm and Tracey took hold of Bree's. The apple rose fell from her hand and onto the table in front of Bonzo. Lacey shot the zombies a harsh glare while her cohorts pulled the girls away to a "safe" distance.

"You know you're talking to zombies, right?" Tracey asked.

Addison put on a cheerful smile, "We're fighting against intolerance!"

"Oh!" Lacey chipped in, "I fought mine by eliminating dairy."

" _Zombie_ intolerance," Bree said, trying to sound bold. Lacey rolled her eyes.

"Look, you're just a stand-in, remember? You don't want to risk anything, do you?" she turned to Addison, "And your cousin is not gonna be happy you're palling around with _zombies_. You're already on thin ice asking him to let _her_ on the squad."

"Cheerleaders don't support freaks," Stacey said with a shake of her head.

Tracey snapped his fingers, remembering something, "Right! Bucky said there was something different about you," his voice dropped, "I can see that now."

Bree saw the panic in Addison's eyes and her hand flew to her hair – wig.

"No, I-I… I'm not different."

Lacey took a step closer. "Your smile. Is that an… _overbite_?"

Stacey folded her arms, "Is one leg longer than the other?"

"Do you wear corrective lenses?" Tracey smirked and glanced at Bree, "Maybe you could take her advice, huh?"

"I-I don't…" Addison muttered, throwing an apologetic look at Bree, then raised her voice, her smile returning, "I'm not different. I'm the samest person you've ever met!"

"Hanging with zombies can be hazardous. You could end up at the reject table like," they snapped in creepily perfect sync, " _That_. And you could already be on your way there, anyway. So watch yourselves." Bree self-consciously adjusted her glasses as Lacey spoke.

Neither of them said another word. The Aceys, satisfied, sashayed away together back to their private table. Bree and Addison looked at each other, then cautiously back at the zombies. Bonzo and Zed's faces were both filled with concern.

When Bree saw Bonzo pick up the apple rose, looking strangely determined, and go to stand up, her hand wrapped around Addison's wrist and she pulled her away. Addison didn't question her, they just hurried out of the cafeteria.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

The girls stood in front of one of the many trophy cabinets of Seabrook High School, every award inside being for cheer. They were a part of this now. They were expected to act like it. What were they doing trying to befriend zombies? That wasn't their place. That wasn't where they belonged. They needed to fit in. And fitting in meant rejecting what was different, and who was different.

Bree took off her glasses, looking down at them with disdain as she wiped the lenses on her cheer uniform. Addison was silent next to her.

Two tall figures appeared behind them.

"Ah, ze perfect picnic spot!" Zed's questionable attempt at a French accent earned a giggle from Addison.

Bree quickly put her glasses back on and looked up at Bonzo, who simply smiled down at her and offered her the apple rose once again. This time, Bree didn't even try to hide it. She beamed, taking a moment to really appreciate the gift. It was such a small thing, but so creative, and so touching that he made it for her.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft but earnest, "And I'm sorry about all that, I really wanted to stay but…" she sighed, "What are you gonna do, right?"

"Garzedd-zig." _I understand._ Bree had managed to learn what that meant, it was a pretty common, and versatile, term from what she had read online.

"And," she hesitated for a second, "A-about the pep rally… I'm really, _really_ sorry, I tried to tell Bucky not t-"

"Breeska," Bonzo's tone was kind and reassuring, "Zon ru bragan." _It's not your fault._

She knew "zon" and "ru", but not "bragan". She could guess what he was trying to say, though.

"… Were you OK…? Afterwards?"

"… Za."

"You sure?"

He nodded. Neither of them had realised that Addison and Zed had started up the stairs.

"It's hard, isn't it…? In a place like Seabrook. Being scared. People judging you for it."

When she lifted her head again, Bonzo was watching her, curious.

"Ru…?"

"I… I know it's stupid, I shouldn't be making such a big deal about it but…" she went quiet, curling in herself out of habit, "I can't wear contacts. I just can't do it and nobody else has this problem. I thought maybe if I made the cheer squad, people wouldn't judge me so much, but I'm just a stand-in. And I know it's 'cause of this. Because it's obvious that I'm not as perfect as them and I can- _won't_ do anything about it."

"Zon, Breeska… Zozig," _No, Bree… You're wrong,_ "Ja'zon ru zoroz." _You shouldn't be ashamed._

But, of course, she didn't understand. She didn't move, staying facing away from him. Bonzo thought for a moment then slowly took a step closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind, and she tensed up. He pressed on, carefully coaxing her to turn around. She did, and Bonzo raised his hand to gently tilt her chin up. He didn't quite meet her eyes, but she couldn't look away. She waited as he searched for the words to say.

"… You _are_ perfect."

Bree was rendered speechless, and she wasn't sure if it was what he said that did it, or the fact that he had said it in English. She struggled to find her voice again, until eventually she took a step backwards, lightly pushing Bonzo off of her, and brought her arms around herself.

"I wish I was."

He was about to reply when they heard voices down the hall. They both knew what could happen if Bonzo was caught alone with a human student. Without another thought, Bree grabbed Bonzo's hand…

"This way."

… And took off in the other direction.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bree had honestly only been looking for the first unlocked, empty room they came to, but she may have subconsciously gravitated towards a certain place.

She did know _something_ about Bonzo. It couldn't be a coincidence that they found themselves inside the music room. Maybe somewhere in the back of her mind, Bree wanted to bring him here.

The moment Bonzo set foot in the room, he was in complete and total awe of everything around him. While Bree stood by the door, making absolute sure that nobody had seen them, he slowly walked forward, to the centre, where he could take it all in. He let out a disbelieving laugh. This was real. He was there, in Seabrook High School's music room. So maybe it wasn't how he'd hoped it would be – he was hiding there, he wasn't in a class, he wasn't playing alongside other students, he wasn't proving to the humans that he had every right to be there. But it was enough to make him smile, and as Bree watched him she felt something bubbling inside her.

All she could think about in that moment was how badly she wanted to know him.

He hadn't seen anything like it before, so many instruments, all shiny and new and well-taken-care-of. Not pale imitations cobbled together from old junk, not old and worn second-hand things he had to trade for with Paizley. Not like his instruments back at home at all. He plucked a few strings of a guitar and a violin, and clapped his palm down on a drum. But above all else, Bonzo was drawn to the piano.

 _A grand piano_. Bonzo delicately brushed his fingers over it, almost scared to touch it. He had only ever played on a keyboard before. Never in his life had he thought he would ever even see a grand piano. After a moment's hesitation, he carefully lifted the lid and sat down. He pressed a single key and a note rang out, crisp and clear. Behind him, Bree froze for a second, waiting for the door to fly open and a teacher to storm in and demand to know why they were there, why a _zombie_ was there, why Bree was _alone_ with a zombie… But nothing happened. Bonzo glanced at her, his smile never wavering for even a second, then he turned back and bit his tongue. She was starting to pick up on how he always did that when he was happy or excited. His left hand hovered over the keys briefly then struck a chord, then another and another. He hummed along to his music and Bree moved closer.

She came to sit down beside him. His right hand began to play a melody and he looked at her, nodding down at the keys. Bree gave him a questioning look and he nodded again as her left hand came up and Bonzo guided it to the chords he had been playing. Then he took her right hand and showed her how to pick out the simple melody. And once she had the hang of it, and they were both grinning at each other, Bonzo stood and returned to the instruments arranged around the room. Bree kept watching, and her voice couldn't help following along with the music.

" _Tried to fit in my whole life  
 _You're dying to stand out  
 _I always thought  
 _But, now I wanna know  
 _Know what it's like on your side  
 _How much I've missed out  
 _Forget what I thought  
 _Because I wanna know_ "_______

She had thought he only played the tuba, but she was more than impressed by his piano playing. As she sang, Bonzo walked along the wall and strummed the strings of the guitars hanging there. How many more instruments could he play…?

" _Nothing before seems right now  
 _I guess it never really was  
 _You don't know me  
 _I don't know you…_ "___

He switched on a keyboard and began playing along with her, quickly hitting some button on it. Bree couldn't help how her smile was growing wider.

" _It's time to shout it loud  
 _We're not alone here 'cause  
 _You could know me  
 _I could know you…_ "___

Bonzo hit another button and a recording of his music kicked in. He kept moving around the room and Bree continued to sing and play.

" _All at once…_ "

There were three metronomes sitting on a shelf and Bonzo set the first one off ticking at a steady pace.

" _I'm starting to see it, I'm starting to feel it  
 _All at once  
 _It's getting clearer now, where we can both fit_ "__

The second one was set a little slower.

" _Here, now  
 _Somehow  
 _It'll work out  
 _And everyone will know_ "___

The third, faster.

" _Everyone will know  
 _Me, know you  
 _They're gonna know  
 _They've gotta know_ "___

Bree stood up, letting the keyboard recording take over. She watched, curious, as Bonzo struck a few keys of a xylophone. They shared a look – challenging, teasing – and Bonzo bit his tongue again. He went back to the wall and Bree followed him.

" _Keep it coming, come on…_ "

Bonzo picked up one of the guitars and threw the strap over his shoulder. Bree clapped as he played, feeling herself start to dance, almost under a spell.

" _We got nothing to hide  
 _Everything's gonna change  
 _Are they ready to know?  
 _Oh, how'd we get it so wrong?  
 _All you got inside  
 _Everything's gonna change  
' _Cause they all need to know_ "______

She was getting so caught up in the music, Bree didn't notice the way Bonzo stared as she sang and danced around him.

" _I bought everything they sold me  
 _But what was all that worth?  
 _They don't know me  
 _They don't know you  
 _Now I'm ditchin' all they told me  
 _They say I'll get what I deserve_ "_____

And she didn't notice when the guitar stopped. She didn't hear Bonzo's light chuckle.

" _But you could know me  
 _And I could know…_ "_

She felt a tug on her sleeve and frowned. Bonzo was somewhere behind her. She looked down to see his right hand – just his right hand, perched on a table beside her like some small animal – beckoning her to turn around. She jumped.

"… _you…_ "

It crept along the table and jumped off, scurrying across the floor, and Bree followed it right into Bonzo's chest.

" _All at once…_ "

As he reattached his hand, Bonzo grinned at her and she returned it. He spun her around and suddenly they were dancing together, alone in the music room. The keyboard and metronomes seem to fade into the background. They were hearing their own music.

" _I'm starting to see it, I'm starting to feel it  
 _All at once  
 _It's getting clearer now, where we can both fit  
 _Here, now  
 _Somehow  
 _It'll work out  
 _And everyone will know  
 _Me, know you_ "_______

Everything seemed to slow down for a moment.

" _Can you see it?  
 _Can you see us?  
 _Can you feel it?  
 _Can you, can you  
 _Can you feel it?_ "____

The first metronome gradually stopped ticking.

" _All at once  
 _I'm starting to see it, I'm starting to feel it  
 _All at once  
 _It's getting clearer now, where we can both fit  
 _Here, now  
 _Somehow  
 _It'll work out  
 _And everyone will know  
 _Me, know you_ "________

The second one stopped soon after.

" _They're all gonna know  
 _Me, know you…_ "_

And finally the ticking stopped altogether.

" _I wanna know_ "

Bonzo reached to turn off the keyboard, not once looking away from Bree. It took her a moment to find her voice again but the bell rang before she could speak. Bonzo looked up at the sound, obviously disappointed. He couldn't be anywhere near the music room when the other humans came along. Bree was already by the door and he quickly joined her as she opened it and stepped out, checking the coast was clear for him before he tried to leave. She moved aside to let him pass but he wasn't quite ready to go. He caught her outstretched hand as it let go of the door handle.

"Gazaru, Breeska."

Thanks to Addison's slip-up earlier, she knew what he was saying – _Thank you_. She blushed and beamed back at him.

"You're gonna be in this room again, one day, you know," she said, "You're gonna be in here, playing, just the same as everybody else. And they're gonna love you."

Bonzo's eyes lit up immediately and he bit his tongue one more time, making her giggle at his cute expression. But then there were voices down the hall and both their smiles dropped. Bonzo let go of Bree's hand, starting to back away, and with a small wave, and after a second thought, a sweet blown kiss, he was gone.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

He was descending the stairs back down into the basement when Bonzo heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Bonzo, wait up!" Zed practically hurled himself down the steps in his excitement, "Hey, where'd you go? I thought you were right behind us when those humans came down the hall."

"Breeska aza gruzic garzrea…!" _Bree showed me the music room…!_ Bonzo still couldn't believe it had happened. Any of it.

"No way. That's awesome, Bonz, now we just gotta get you back in there!"

"Za! Bak, ru? Addiska, zet?"

"We went back to the safe room. C'mon, let's go, I'll tell you all about it," Zed hopped down the last couple of steps, "And _you_ can tell me about what happened with Bree."

Bonzo went to follow him but he paused when he passed the graffiti he had changed the other day.

" _KNOW ZOMBIES!"_

It was starting. Almost like by writing those two letters, Bonzo had cast some kind of spell. Zed waved a hand in front of his face and he blinked.

"Bonzo? Something wrong?"

"Zonzig," he shook his head, smiling, his eyes still fixed on the graffiti, "Zon grog."

 _Nothing. Not now._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

God, I haven't updated this in almost a month...! Sorry about that, but I needed to fully plot this chapter out and I've been working on my other fics. If you haven't already seen it, the Big Project has been revealed and it's a ZOMBIES TV series screenplay! Or at least what I'd imagine a series would be like ^^ There'll be weekly updates to that so episode 2 should be coming on Tuesday~ Let me know what you think of it!

Anyway, we're back to the Bronzo AU, and I'm really happy you guys liked the last chapter~ It took me ages to figure out that song (I wrote it so it could be sung to the same music as Someday with a slightly different tune) but it worked out. So now we're onto the real start of the zombie integration...! I have some fun ideas for where this is going next~

* * *

Chapter 5

Bree had been on Bonzo's mind since that moment, since she had assured him that he'd get another chance to play in the music room someday, since he had blown her a kiss goodbye. Both he and Zed seemed like they were in a daze, completely smitten after spending some time alone with the human girls, and Eliza was trying to hold back her snide quips.

Even now, at Zed's first football game, Bonzo struggled to stay focused on the action once he spotted Bree on the ground. Some other cheerleader must have been unavailable because she was there beside Addison, cheering her heart out. Bonzo smiled to himself and hugged Zander to his cheek, only for his attention to be torn away by Zed being tackled into the ground. He shuddered and quickly covered Zander's eyes.

"Oh, zombie down!" Bucky's cruel laugh came from down below.

He led the squad through a short routine and Bonzo noticed Bree hesitate briefly before joining in. As she finished, she bounced a little and looked to her right at Addison, but she was watching Zed. Bonzo sighed. Things weren't looking too good for his friend. They weren't looking good for any of the zombies. If Zed couldn't pull through on the field, they'd be back to square one. No more cafeteria privileges.

No more seeing Bree at lunch.

He looked down again and caught sight of her searching the crowd. They're eyes locked for a second or two and though the familiar shock of discomfort did hit him this time, he didn't want to look away. Beside him, Zoey was muttering something to her father.

"At least the cheerleaders are amazing!"

Bonzo had to agree.

"Go, Seabrook! Go, Seabrook! _Go, Seabrook!_ "

As Zoey chanted, Bonzo waved Zander's paws up and down, earning a giggle from Bree. Eliza turned to face them both.

"We don't clap for cheerleaders."

 _We weren't clapping._

Still, he brought Zander closer to his chest. He tried to keep watching Zed play but Bree was just too distracting and Bonzo couldn't help himself. When halftime came, he barely even noticed Zed beckoning to Eliza or her slipping away to speak with him.

Now back on the field, Zed suddenly picked up. Bonzo rose from his seat, along with the other zombies, shocked at his newfound strength and speed. Addison was practically screaming Zed's name in excitement and when Bucky tried to silence her, she snatched his megaphone away.

"Feel that breeze? It's not a sneeze! Zombies score and run with ease!"

That got a shockingly loud response and Bree took that as her cue, grinning up at Bonzo before taking the megaphone from Addison.

"Mighty Shrimp don't run and hide, let me hear your zombie pride!"

The crowd roared, the only one possibly louder than Bonzo being Zevon. But then he stopped. Bucky has taken back the megaphone and was talking to the girls, and whatever he was saying left them both speechless. This time, when Bree looked up at him, he felt his heart drop. It didn't last long, though, as he was soon caught up in the rush of crowd; they had won. _Zed had won._ Seemingly out of nowhere. Bonzo scooped Eliza up in his arms and they cheered together.

After the game, it didn't look like he'd get a chance to try and talk to Bree. It was clear Bucky wasn't going to let him anywhere near. Instead, Bonzo made his way towards Zed. He needed to know what had happened.

"Zedka."

"Bonzo!" he came jogging over, still wearing a wide grin, "Did you see that?"

"Za!"

Bonzo wrapped him up in a tight hug, pulling away only when Zed let out a pained grunt.

"I actually did it!" he was just as surprised as Bonzo, "This is it. We're _in_ …!"

He grabbed Bonzo by the shoulders, shaking him enthusiastically and Bonzo laughed with him, but his smile slowly faded when he heard Zed's next words, whispered, not meant for Bonzo to hear.

"I can't believe it worked…"

"Varkra?"

Zed's head snapped up again.

"Gozig varkra?" _What worked?_

He waited for a moment but got no answer, "Zedka, _gozig_?"

"Alright, your swear you're not gonna freak out on me?"

That only made him nervous, but he nodded anyway.

"I had Eliza hack my band," he explained, his voice low, "Just a little zomboost, to help me out."

There was a pause as the words sunk in.

"Gretch…?"

"It's _not_ cheating."

"Za! Ru gretch."

"It isn't cheating when that's technically my natural state of being! If anything, a normal Z-band setting should count as cheating."

Bonzo still wasn't having it, "Elizaka agrap?" _Eliza agreed to this?_

"Only because we need this. Remember, Principal Lee said that if I can actually win some games, then we're out of the basement. We're talking about _full integration_ ," he looked at Bonzo, pleading with him, "Look, if you want to get into music class, you have to let me do this. OK?"

Did he, though?

"It's perfectly safe! I'm in control here, it only goes so far. Eliza set it up herself. If you don't trust me, you can at least trust her, right?"

"Za," he sighed. It looked like he would have to.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

On the last morning in the basement, the whole room was buzzing with excitement and everyone's attention was on Zed. Bonzo and Eliza weren't going to deny they were proud of him, and eager to join the humans upstairs again, but neither of them were entirely comfortable with how they got to this point. They tried not to dwell on it but the feelings of concern remained in the back of their minds.

The atmosphere shifted when there was a knock on the door and every zombie, even Mr Zeck, turned their heads to see a slightly uneasy-looking human woman slowly enter the boiler room/classroom. Mr Zeck stepped forward.

"Is there a problem?"

It took a moment for her to say anything, probably not being used to talking to zombies, "Well, not exactly a problem. I'm Miss Carter, the music teacher."

Bonzo went stiff and Zed and Eliza each shot him a sidelong glance. This had to have something to do with him. He'd been caught in the music room with Bree and destroyed any chances he could have had. Miss Carter was scanning the room now.

"I'm looking for one zombie in particular…"

He ducked his head and leaned forward on his desk. Maybe she wouldn't see him.

"You!"

He felt Eliza nudge him and he lifted his head.

Yup.

She was looking at him. She was walking towards him.

"You were in the music room during lunch on Thursday, weren't you?"

Bonzo gulped and nodded, "A-abraza…"

When Miss Carter frowned, Zed stepped in to explain.

"He said he's sorry. He doesn't really speak English," then when she went to question further, "He can understand you fine, he just doesn't speak."

"Ah," she said, turning back to Bonzo, "Well, there's no need to be sorry."

She was smiling now. Not just smiling, she was grinning. _Beaming_.

So… he _wasn't_ in trouble…?

"I was passing by and I heard the piano so, of course, I went to see who was in there. And I have to admit, when I saw a zombie through the window, I was… a little anxious. I almost thought to call for a patrol officer but then I realised it was you playing," Bonzo's hopes were on the rise again, Zed had a firm grip on his shoulder, Eliza was conflicted and every zombie in the room held their breath, completely engrossed, "And I just couldn't."

She looked down at his tuba, leaning against the desk.

"And you're obviously quite diverse."

Bonzo, feeling oddly self-conscious, dropped his gaze again and fidgeted with his Z-band, but now it was excitement, not fear, that was making him nervous. Thank Z he had Zed there, because Bonzo had no idea what to say in this situation.

"He's classically trained on the horns. And everything else, he's self-taught."

"Everything else?"

"Yeah, and I really mean _everything_ else."

Vague, but evidently enough to impress Miss Carter.

"What's your name?"

"… Bonzo."

The second time he had introduced himself to a human. Was it always going to be so amazingly nerve-wracking? Miss Carter stood with her hands on her hips. She glanced at Zed.

"You know, with Zed joining the football team, it's clear that we've been underestimating zombies. And if the school is going to be integrated, then we need to do more than just letting you out of the basement. So, Bonzo, how would you like a place in my music class?"

"Za…!" he finally let out the breath he had been holding, his face lighting up, and he nodded eagerly.

"Wait a minute," Eliza interrupted his joy, "Won't it be kinda hard if he doesn't speak English? We can't be there to translate for him."

"Grag, groz," _I can, a little_ , Bonzo gave her a desperate look.

"Zon droz," _Not enough_ , she hissed back.

"As long as he understands, it'll be fine. I'm sure he can let his music speak for him."

"Za," he looked at Eliza pointedly, then back to Miss Carter, "Za, quag."

Zed translated; "He wants in!"

"In that case, I have a few things to discuss with Principal Lee. You'll hear from me again soon, Bonzo."

He barely even noticed her leaving. He bit his tongue.

"Gruzic… _Gruzic_ …!"

In the corner of the room, a little zombie was stomping her feet.

"Did you hear that, guys?" Izabelle laughed, "My baby cousin just became the second ever zombie to get into a humans-only team!"

"Zrudge!" _Class!_ Bonzo corrected her.

"Whatever! What's important is you made it, Bonz!"

He was quickly swarmed with more congratulations from the others, but when it stopped, Zed leaned closer to him.

"I told you, didn't I?" his eyes briefly flickered down to his band, "We need this if we wanna get anywhere."

And suddenly Bonzo was barely hearing all the praise.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

The news spread fast and when Bonzo approached the music room for only the second time in his life, he was pleasantly surprised to find Bree standing by the door. He slowed to a stop in front of her, a goofy smile already creeping onto his face. She stood with her hands behind her back, bouncing on her heels trying to contain her excitement.

"I heard a zombie was joining the music program," she said, "Who else could it be?"

"Ru deh reez, Breeska." _Because of you_.

Clearly, she was making some progress with Zombie-tongue, judging from the way she blushed.

"You deserve it. I gotta go, but good luck, OK?"

He couldn't get a single word out. He was already so happy to be there, and now Bree had shown up just to wish him luck for his first class? He could have sworn he felt his heart beating. She waved at him as she left and he turned to watch her go, then closed his eyes, took a breath, and opened the door.

Bonzo hardly even noticed the looks of confusion, disgust and fear on some of his fellow students' faces. Granted, ever since Zed had paved the way, there were more of them who seemed willing to welcome him but there was still a thick air of tension in the room. It began to ebb away, though, once they heard him play.

Sure, one or two humans in the class still weren't quite warming up to him, but they weren't going to deny he was talented. His popularity, along with Zed's, began to increase.

They took down the fence that separated them from the rest of Seabrook. What was the use now, when they could freely roam about the school?

\- ANOTHER WAY –

The zombies' tables were no longer _just_ the zombies' tables. So many humans were beginning to make friends with them and their little corner of the cafeteria was buzzing with life. Other musicians were coming to Bonzo for advice and football fans were asking Zed for autographs. From the cheer squad's table, Bree and Addison watched with proud smiles. It wasn't long before they both stood up, nodding eagerly to one another in agreement, and start to make their way over to join the fun.

Their smiles dropped when they both felt a hand on their shoulder force them back around, bringing them face-to-face with Bucky.

"Sit back down."

Bree couldn't stop herself, "We're not doing anything wrong…!"

"You're running out of chances, Bree. You want to keep your position, you go back to your seat."

"But, everybody else is-" Addison started.

" _Everybody else_ isn't on the squad," he snapped, "You're either pro-cheerleader or pro-zombie. Decide now."

"Wait, what? You don't know hard we've-"

"What's it gonna be?"

Addison turned to Bree for help but she didn't know how to.

"I…" she turned back to Bucky, "I want to be a cheerleader. That's all I ever wanted."

Bucky flashed a quick smile then cocked his head towards Bree.

"… Me too… I want to cheer." Her voice was so quiet, she could barely even hear herself, but it was enough for Bucky.

"Good."

As he headed back towards the captains' table, Bree and Addison could feel tears in their eyes. They pulled each other into a hug.

"Hey, Addison!" They broke apart at the sound of Zed's voice. This time, the other students paid him no mind. A zombie calling to a human wasn't anything out of the ordinary now.

The moment Bree looked up, Bonzo turned around. He wasn't normally the best at clocking people's emotions, not when he hadn't known them for long, but Bree was something different. He could tell there was something wrong. He cast a questioning glance at Zed, who had tried to wave at Addison with no response, then looked back at Bree, determined to fix whatever it was. But when he rose from his chair, she took a step back, grabbing Addison's arm. She heard her friend sniff and immediately dragged her away. Far away from the zombies.

Bonzo and Zed almost followed them, like the last time, but people were beckoning them back, demanding their attention. Bonzo took one last sad look across the room as Bree ushered Addison out the door then sat back down again. It looked like they wanted to be alone, anyway.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

The changes kept on coming and soon Eliza had been accepted in the computer club. Although she wasn't as friendly with the humans as Bonzo and Zed were. Once the last of their new followers had left them for the day, she stood.

"OK, I'm off to computer club," she still couldn't believe it was really happening, "Me. I think I might be happy…" She hurried away.

Bonzo had music class now and grabbed his tuba. Before running off, he slapped Zed's outstretched palm.

"Gruzic!"

He rounded the corner and immediately stopped, unable to stop himself from smiling. Bree was walking towards him, along with Addison and the Aceys.

"Breeska…!" he trailed off as Tracey yanked Bree backwards before she could even open her mouth, shoving her to his other side and away from Bonzo. The Aceys forced her and Addison onwards and Bonzo stood there, watching them go. It left him feeling discouraged until he made it to the music room and someone called out to him.

"Bonzo…!" it was Rachel, a girl who had originally tried out for cheer but had been rejected by Bucky, "Uh, one of the cheerleaders stopped by a minute ago, she asked me to give you this."

She held out a pink piece of paper and he took it.

"Gazar."

Rachel gave him an awkward smile and went back to her seat, leaving Bonzo to open the note. He didn't even need to read the name at the bottom for his usual positivity to return, the glitter gel pen alone told him who it was from.

" _Still singing to your music, just from a distance, xo, Bree."_

The corner of his mouth quirked up as he slipped the note into his pocket. He'd find a way to see her again soon.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bonzo and Zed had been conspiring behind Eliza's back; they were going to celebrate the integration with a zombie mash at the old power plant and what better way to get some time with the girls without Bucky or the Aceys breathing down their necks? But there was no chance of Eliza agreeing to it. They had to be discreet.

At the next football game, after another inevitable victory for the Mighty Shrimp, Bonzo slipped away from Eliza, barely managing to hide from her in the bustling crowd. As the team carried Zed off the field, Bonzo made his way over to the cheerleaders. Bree had been back on the sidelines this time so he'd missed out on watching her cheer and now she was already heading off with the rest of the squad. Probably for the best, seeing as if the Aceys caught him trying to talk to her it was bound to go badly. Meanwhile, Addison was preoccupied with staring at Zed basking in his own glory. With no-one around to stop him, Bonzo slid up to her, stirring her from her dream-like state.

"What are you…?"

Zed had told him not to draw any attention to himself and this was important, it had to be done delicately. Not once looking at Addison, Bonzo took the note Zed had written, that he had absent-mindedly folded into an origami bird, and held it round the other side of her head, bobbing it up and down and whistling. She took it and was about to open it but Bonzo couldn't resist giving her a tight hug.

But it was still all very serious.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

I am so sorry for this taking so long to update, I meant to have this chapter up before episode 3 of the series fic but I ended up struggling with both and I wanted to prioritise the series :/ This has ended up being the longest chapter so far so hopefully that makes up for it~ I still need to figure out the details of chapter 7 but I got excited and have a few paragraphs of chapter 8 already written! It's gonna be a good one ^^

Some extra context for this chapter is in a few certain Beyond the Barrier one-shots - A Helping Hack, Vent Art and To Keep You Safe - so if you haven't read those, or if it's been a while since you did, maybe go check those out~ Not 100% necessary, it'll just help

* * *

Chapter 6

"Bree...!"

Her head jerked round at the sound of Addison's excited squeal and she barely got a chance to respond.

"Addy, what are y-"

"Look!"

A yellow piece of paper was flung in her face and she blinked in surprise before taking it.

" _Ready to break every rule in the book. Meet us at the barrier 7pm. Tonight. Zed & Bonzo"_

Bree gaped and stared back at Addison.

"The _barrier_? As in, _Zombie Town_?" she hissed, frantically glancing around to make sure nobody heard her, "We can't just walk on in, can we?"

"Why not? We've already been there once before!"

"Yeah, when Bucky forced us to go and we had no idea."

She shook her head but Addison smirked and tapped her finger on the last word of the note.

"He's gonna be so disappointed you didn't wanna see him..."

"Ah...!" Bree gasped, then pouted, then let out a long whine, "Addy, that's not fair!"

"What's not fair is if I turn up to see Zed and Bonzo's left all alone," Addison sighed dramatically and shrugged, "He's expecting you and you're gonna stand him up like that?"

Glaring, Bree pointed at her, "I know what you're trying to do."

"Is it working?"

She cast her eyes up towards the stands and easily spotted Bonzo there, along with Eliza and a few other zombies. Turning back to Addison with a somewhat reluctant expression, Bree was quickly broken down by her friend's way-too-eager grin. It was contagious, it seemed.

"Yes?"

\- ANOTHER WAY –

They had each told their parents they would be over at the other's house for a while that night, having agreed to meet at 6:45pm outside the park, a short walk away from the barrier's main gate. Bree was there perhaps a little early, fidgeting and pacing back and forth when Addison showed up.

"You ready?"

"I guess so..."

"We'll be fine, OK?"

But she looked a bit too much like she was trying to convince herself for Bree to really believe her. Still, this might be the only way either of them were going to see their (" _their_ " – Bree shuddered) zombies. And if Bonzo was this desperate to see her again, that had to mean something, right? They set off.

The walk to the gate was pretty much silent, either one of the girls trying to prepare themselves for whatever they were about to see, or do. They reached the end of the long brightly-coloured wall, the one warning them to stay back, and there was the post-apocalyptic wasteland tucked away where Seabrook didn't have to worry about it. Bree and Addison each took a shaky breath and urged themselves forward. Bonzo and Zed were already approaching the gate from the other side, Zed rubbing his wrist under his Z-band while Bonzo muttered something to him. Probably nervous. At the sight of the girls, though, their faces lit up and Bonzo was distracted.

"Hey!" Zed's eyes were fixed on Addison's, "You made it."

"Yeah, and we're totally not freaked out at all," Addison replied with a less-than-convincing smile back at Bree, who returned it and laughed nervously.

Then Bonzo was standing in front of her and her mind went blank for a second or two. The smile that stretched across Bree's face this time was completely sincere and she hardly even realised that Zed was already leading Addison towards their destination.

All she could say right now was, "Hi..."

"Geh, Breeska," he grinned down at her, offering her his hand, "Zo, za?" _Let's go._

Every one of her worries melted away at the touch of his hand. She let him take her into Zombie Town and somehow she felt safe with him beside her, no matter how frightened she had been. Zed and Addison had gone on ahead so they were alone together and as they walked further and further, to who-knows-where, Bree found herself slowing down. Bonzo's calming effect was wearing off already. Wasn't it getting close to curfew? What if they got caught? What if some other zombies weren't so thrilled to have humans in their space? What if-

"Breeska?"

She hadn't known she was shaking, and gripping Bonzo's hand tighter. And pressing closer to his side. She backed off and loosened her grip.

"Zon, ru grodge," _No, you're fine_ , he assured her, "Garzedd-zig, ag zu ru." _You know I'm here for you._

He was phrasing it simply enough for her to understand. Bree let herself get closer to him again.

"Thanks."

A tall building loomed over them to the left, an entire section of the roof, as well the top two storeys beneath it, apparently blown off by some horrific means.

 _That must be the old power plant._

And Bonzo was steering her straight towards it. Her heart was thumping, now due to something other than the ( _seriously_ unnecessarily tall) boy next to her. Bree stopped in her tracks, causing Bonzo to do the same.

"Gozig?"

"I just..." she had to tear her eyes away from the gaping hole in the roof, "I-is it safe in there?"

"Za," he nodded, biting his tongue and looking over at the power plant excitedly. He gave Bree's hand a gentle tug and she started following him again, "Ru garziga, garzedd-zig!" _You'll love this, I know it!_

His smile was enough to finally convince her.

By the time they got inside, Zed and Addison were already gone. Bree took in the scene around her; broken windows, loose bricks dislodged from walls, a crumbling ceiling. She raised her eyebrow at Bonzo in a look that said 'Are you serious?' but he just squeezed her hand and led her onwards to what appeared to be an elevator. She had to remind herself that she could trust Bonzo. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She knew he wouldn't. As the elevator door closed behind them and they started to move, she leaned against the wall beside him.

"So..." she said and he looked down at her, "I'm sorry we haven't been able to talk lately."

"Grag agz grog," _We can now_ , Bonzo said with a soft smile.

Bree smiled back and tipped her head forward so that her hair formed a curtain covering her glasses. A nervous habit she still couldn't get rid of, even around him. She could feel his eyes on her and forced herself to show her face again.

"How are you liking music class?"

"Za, kruzrin! Ag zazig zrap..." _It's fun! I'm really happy..._ he looked down, suddenly shy and let out a shaky breath, "Gazaru, Breeska." _Thanks to you._

She didn't fully understand the first part, but the second part...

"Me?" she brought a hand to her chest and he nodded, "I can't take any credit for it, you're the one with the talent. And besides, it's Zed who even made it possible for you in the first place."

Bonzo's smile dropped and he looked away, leading Bree to believe she had said something wrong.

"Bonzo...? I-I didn't mean-"

"Zon! Zon ru," _No! It's not you,_ he straightened up and turned to her, "Greh..." _It's just..._

"Is something wrong?"

He sighed, more serious now, and lowered his voice, "Gra'zon ru egrall grozro, za?"

"I can't...?"

"Garzalk." _Talk._

"Ta- I can't tell...?"

"Za."

"I won't. What's going on?"

"Zedka..." he cut himself off, hesitating, "Elizaka, hack-ga zer-garzand zu Zedka."

"Eliza... Wait, was that English?" a nod, a pause as she thought, "She _hacked_ Zed's Z-band?"

"Za..." His voice came out so quiet, he was obviously worried.

"Is that how he's winning all these games?"

"Za."

Bree mouthed a 'wow', then frowned.

"She can hack into the bands?"

"Za. Agru grodge." _Yeah. She's good._ He let out a short laugh and went right back to being concerned. His right hand began fidgeting with his own Z-band. Bree took a moment to continue. She wasn't sure if this was an appropriate time to be asking him these things, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"Has she done that before?"

"Za."

"... Has she hacked yours before?"

Bonzo was silent for a second or two, his head down and his fingers still circling his Z-band, "... Za."

"Why would she...?"

"Quag," _I wanted her to_ , Bree guessed the meaning behind the one word, "Grep garzedd-zig ag..." _To help me understand my..._ Bonzo shrugged and looked back at Bree, slightly anxious, "...Ag bragan."

She had learned that word by now. Or at least, one meaning for it.

"Your... Your problem...?"

Bonzo didn't answer. He was trying to find the words to explain.

"Bonzo?"

He sighed, "Zazig quag egrall. Bak..." _I really want to tell you. But..._ He gestured between them.

"I wouldn't know what you're saying."

"Za."

"I will someday."

They shared a sweet smile as the doors slid open.

The first thing Bree noticed, although it was hard to miss, was the heaving mass of zombies. But the music pulsating from speakers all around, the bright, colourful lights and the loud laughter told her Bonzo had been right, and she had nothing to worry about. It was a party.

Letting out a surprised laugh, Bree looked around, her eyes coming to rest on the door of the elevator as it closed. A green figure was painted in the centre, with a dark grey 'Z' behind it. Green swirls emanated out from it and formed more figures, what must have been Zombie-tongue letters in the spaces between. She couldn't read it, she was learning Zombie phonetically, but she wished she could.

"Wow..." she whispered.

"Gazar."

Bonzo's voice was right by her ear and she jumped, making him laugh lightly.

"Y-you did that...?" she pointed at the mural.

"Za."

Before she could ask what it said, he had grabbed her hand again and was pulling her across the floor.

"Bree!"

"There you are!"

Addison and Zed jogged over. The four of them had ended up standing in front of another mural; a Z-band surrounded by a circular bolt of electricity and more, she assumed, Zombie letters.

"It's Zombie-tongue," Zed explained and Bree couldn't help feeling a little proud that she was right, "We have a rich language. Twenty three different words for brains."

"Whoa...!"

Bonzo nudged Bree's arm and she turned to see him pull a face, shake his head and grin. Zed must have been exaggerating. Bree bit her lip to hide her giggling.

But her giggling faded when she saw an all-too-familiar figure on the edge of the dancefloor.

"So, you like a girl with brains?" Addison was saying and Zed laughed but Bree wasn't paying attention as Eliza whipped around and strode over.

"You know, that's super offensive."

Bree cringed as Addison scrambled to apologise.

"Both of you? Really?" Eliza's attention was on the boys, "You brought Little Misses Cheer Boots and Glitter Pop to our zombie mash? Humans? _Here?_ "

While she was talking, Bonzo slipped his hand into Bree's and tugged on it, quickly leading her away.

"Hey, I'm not done here!"

He ignored Eliza and made his way through the crowd, Bree following blindly. They passed by zombies, dancing and ing, and a few of them called out to Bonzo as they did. Others started to murmuring to one another excitedly.

" _BAMM..._ " was the word on everybody's lips.

Bonzo nodded to one zombie and they pulled a lever. A strong puff of smoke exploded from a pipe overhead and Bree flinched and jumped back, Bonzo easily catching her in his arms. The other zombies were starting to run in the other direction but Bonzo took Bree up to a DJ's booth, cobbled together from old tech, keyboards, turntables... Organ pipes stood up behind it, more smoke billowing out, and a star-shaped neon light shone above. Bonzo took his place at the soundboard and beckoned Bree to join him. Somewhere on the other side of the room, zombies were gathering to watch the show.

Bonzo raised a microphone to his lips, his eyes still fixed on Bree.

"Gruzic..."

Zed burst through the smoke and Bonzo watched, his beats syncing with his friend's every move. Bree was captivated. More zombies joined Zed and began to dance.

" _Hey! Welcome to Zombieland, it's a party, go ahead, everybody dance!_ "

But Bree's eyes never left Bonzo. This was entirely different to the day she had watched him play in the music room. That was just between them. _This_... This was who he was in Zombie Town. Another side of him she couldn't wait to get to know.

He glanced at Bree then nodded towards Addison, indicating for her to go join her friend. As she did, Zed passed her and when Bree turned back, Bonzo had disappeared.

" _Look in my eyes..._ "

Only to pop up again from behind a block when Zed knocked on the side. Bree wasn't so surprised this time when Bonzo's arm crept away from him, caught him when he pretended to fall and pushed him upright again.

" _We're the same but different, just like you, I've got hopes and wishes, itching to show the world what they're missing. It's our time, yeah, it's time to flip it._ "

Bonzo slid away, leaving his arm behind, and Zed walked over to Eliza. The disembodied hand beckoned to her and Bree obliged. His palm opened, a silent invitation, and she took it. She was pulled along until she bumped into Bonzo's chest and they both laughed. She held the hand up to him and he snapped it back into place but it never let go of her. He spun her in a half-circle around himself and sent her towards the dancefloor. She paused, unsure of herself, and looked back at him. Bonzo just shot her that same old smile before returning to his booth and she felt something bubbling up inside her. She was beaming when she ran to the floor and stood by Addison, watching the other zombies dance.

" _BAMM! Oh man, oh man, I'm the man, bet you can't do it like I can! BAMM! Oh man, oh man, I'm the man with the plan, let me do my dance!_ "

Neither of the human girls could tear their eyes away from the sight. _This_ was what zombies were really like. In _their_ home, performing _their_ dance to _their_ music, being who they were without the control the humans of Seabrook had tried to maintain over them. Just having fun.

Bree cast a glance back to Bonzo in the DJ's booth and she felt herself drawn to him once more. He stepped aside when he saw her and she stood beside him to watch him at work. She turned to her right, towards a wall of tires painted in bright shades, to see Zed with his arm around Addison. That is, until Eliza stepped in between them and directed Addison away. As she passed, Eliza shot Bree an almost challenging look, Zed's words suddenly sounding a little more threatening.

" _Listen, this is our turf!_ "

She shook it off and focused on the dancers.

Addison came to stand by the booth with them but it wasn't long before she bolted to an empty spot on the floor in the middle of a group of zombie girls and somersaulted into their dance. She gave Bree a teasing smirk and Bonzo did, too. He bit his tongue and tilted his head forward in question.

 _Will you...?_

She ran after Addison.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

The song was over and Bree was back in Bonzo's booth. She was impressed by his setup there but far more impressed by his skills. He didn't just play multiple different instruments – he had written, recorded and mixed the song they had all been dancing to, at least that was what she had gathered from his answers to her questions. They were suddenly interrupted when Eliza came storming up to them.

"Bonzo!"

He jerked round to face her. Eliza just barely acknowledged Bree, but there was something in her expression that made Bree's brow crease. She looked nervous around her. But her concern over whatever issue she needed to bring up with Bonzo overshadowed it.

"Have you seen Zed?"

"Zon."

"He ran off," she lowered her voice, "I think there's something wrong. I don't think he'll talk to me about it, though. Can you give it a shot?"

"Za."

"Like, now."

"Bak...!" he gestured to Bree but Eliza didn't care, she was already walking away.

"Now!"

Heaving a sigh, Bonzo looked at her guiltily.

"It's alright, you go. It could be serious."

"Gazaru," Bonzo pulled her into a grateful hug, "Geh, grag ru zo, aza." _You can go look around._

"OK. I'll see you later..."

He flipped on a playlist and hurried off. He already had a bad feeling about what Zed had been doing, and his fear was beginning to rise. He eventually found him in a corner, sitting on a windowsill. And sure enough, he was clutching his wrist.

"Gro'zup?" _Something up?_

Zed sighed, "I don't know. The Z-band hack really hurts. I can barely feel my wrist..."

"Zorog..." _I'm worried..._ Bonzo let out a shaky breath, trying to smile to ease the tension but he couldn't hold it.

"I'll be fine, buddy. Don't worry about it."

He wasn't convinced, but right now all there was to do was comfort him so he wrapped his arms around Zed in a tight hug. A little too tight, apparently.

"Ah...! OK, Bonzo, my arm...!"

He let go and was about to leave, but he hesitated. He really wasn't happy with this.

"Zedka. Zrag zav. Zon grodge." _You need to stop. This isn't good._

"Bonzo, I can't. We need this, remember?"

"Bak ru zorr." _But it's hurting you._

"Have you seen the girls...?"

"Driza'g!" _Listen to me!_

"It can wait. We're here to celebrate, and we've got Addison and Bree back. Can you just let it go for tonight?"

Bonzo shook his head, "Zon."

"Whatever. I'm going to find Addison."

"Zedka...!"

He tried to stop him but Zed was fast, too fast for Bonzo to stop him. His only choice was to follow.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bree and Addison found themselves in a room filled with lights of all shapes and sizes, but what caught their attention first was the little zombie girl standing on the platform in the middle of the room.

"I'm crazy, I'm cute, zombie to boot! I'm rockin', I smile, zombies aren't vile! Yay!"

They both recognised the girl instantly. She has been sitting outside Zed's house on the night of the initiation, and she always cheering in the stands with his dad, Bonzo and Eliza during games. Bree giggled as she waved her newspaper pom-poms and she and Addison walked further into the room.

"That's some great cheering!"

She dropped the pom-poms and turned to them with a look of fear.

"I wasn't doing anything, certainly not cheering," she stammered, "Please don't tell anyone!"

But Bree and Addison just laughed and shook their heads, coming closer.

"You're Zed's little sister, right?" Addison asked.

"I'm Zoey," she sat down on the edge of the platform, "You're Addison, and you're Bree!"

"Yeah!" they both nodded. Did the boys talk to her about them?

Zoey looked at Bree for a second and tilted her head, "You're glasses really _are_ pretty..."

Bree blushed. Bonzo had definitely been talking about her. Zoey only just seemed to realise she had spoken out loud and quickly changed the subject.

"My cheer makes me happy."

"Me too," said Addison, easily defusing the situation, "You're great at cheerleading, Zoey."

"Thanks, but," Zoey picked up a stuffed dog Bree hadn't noticed before, "My pet, Zander, doesn't seem that impressed."

Bree tapped her nose, "Well, he should be."

Addison smiled, one eyebrow quirked, "But, I think you're old enough to have a real pet. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Zoey's eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to say something but someone beat her to it.

"Stop teasing her," Eliza said as she entered the room, "You know they don't allow zombies to have pets."

Bree and Addison were both surprised, and slightly confused. They shared a look, confirming this was new information for the both of them.

"I didn't know that! I'm still learning that zombies aren't what I was taught. I mean... Look at you," Addison said, and Bree couldn't help being curious where she was going with this. Eliza straightened up, ready for whatever she was about to throw at her, "You're smart, cool, pretty..."

Well, maybe she wasn't ready for _that_. Eliza suddenly turned self-conscious, possibly even flattered, "You think I'm pretty?"

"Yeah!"

The smile on Eliza's face was enough to make Bree think she might not be as tough and headstrong as she thought. She was just defensive. And she had every right to be, as Bree had learned.

She didn't get a chance to comment, though, as Zed appeared in the doorway.

"There you are!"

Another voice came from just outside.

"Zedka...!"

Bonzo was close behind him. His eyes locked on Bree the second he realised she was there, but Zed was too distracted to do the same to Addison.

"Zoey? Whoa, what're you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes and the girls all smirked, "Please, I'm not gonna miss a zombie mash!"

Bree noticed how Bonzo sighed at the little girl, shaking his head affectionately, and she remembered how he had been holding Zander as Zoey cheered at Zed's football games. And speaking of Zed, he was clearly in full big-brother-mode.

"Zoey."

"Come on!" she shifted so that she was kneeling on the platform, "Who's a good boy?"

There was a pause as Zed gave her an irritated look, then... barked? Bree and Addison could only watch in confusion as he brought his hands up and let his tongue loll, like a dog's. He made his way towards the platform.

"Me!"

Zoey patted his shoulder, "Good boy, good boy!"

The girls laughed but then Bonzo came to stand beside Zed, quickly snatching Zander from his spot beside Zoey, and bent down to her level. He barked, just like Zed had done, and held Zander up in front of him. Zoey giggled and Bonzo bit Zander's ear, making her let out a fake gasp.

"No, bad dog!"

Bonzo released Zander and whined, pouting. The sight of it was too cute and Bree had to look away for a second.

"Good boy!" Zoey reached up and ruffled Bonzo's hair. He smirked as he fixed it, returned Zander to his place and stood up again. Eliza walked over and held her arms out to Zoey.

"Alright, I'll take you home," she picked up Zoey, along with her homemade pom-poms, and nodded to the human girls, "The boys have gotta make sure Addison and Bree get outta here."

"We should hang out, Eliza," Addison suggested and Bree felt the need to make some sort of contribution. She quickly looked Eliza up and down for some idea of what to say.

"Hey, I really like your boots!"

"Oh!" Eliza, amazingly, smiled at her, even laughing a little, "Thanks! They're orthotic. I've got this draggy foot thing going on, so..."

And for the first time, they had a pleasant, if very short, conversation. Things were looking up. Bree and Addison let their eyes wander around the room at the lights while Eliza turned away. Bonzo and Zed were anticipating whatever comments she had.

"They're cool."

They looked at each other, not quite convinced.

"Yeah, for humans, right?"

"No," Eliza shook her head, "They're just cool. You guys are good together."

Something must have changed her mind.

As Eliza carried Zoey away, Bree's eyes drifted back to the platform.

"Hey!" she called out and Eliza turned back, "Don't forget Zander!"

She smiled at the little zombie and handed over her "pet", waving goodbye to her. When she turned her head, she saw Bonzo watching her and blushed. She and Addison were alone with Bonzo and Zed again now, and they gravitated towards each other.

"What is this place?" Addison asked.

"It's a zombie light garden."

Bree turned her attention back to the arrangements of lights. She never would have thought zombies could be capable of creating something so beautiful, but then again, she could just add that to the list of things she didn't know. Then something else caught her eye and she moved towards the wall, Bonzo close behind her. She recognised the style of the mural – two zombies raising their band-clad wrists to the sky – she didn't even have to ask.

"You are incredible, you know that?" she breathed, staring in awe at the art.

He didn't say a word. Instead, he took her hand and pulled her forwards for a better look. Bonzo could still remember the night he painted it. When he was at such a low point, when his parents weren't listening and when the only answer to his frustrations he had was to create. Nearly two years ago. He sometimes came to sit in the light garden by himself, whenever he felt he needed to remember why he kept trying.

Bree's expression right now was reason enough. She definitely appreciated it. His hard work. His drive to do it. She may not know the meaning behind it, or what made him paint it, but she loved it anyway. With that in mind, Bonzo carefully lifted Bree's hand to the wall, tracing her fingers across the lines he still remembered painting so easily.

It was like they could hear the music again.

" _Tried to fit in my whole life  
 _You're dying to stand out  
 _I always thought  
 _But now, I'm ready to know_ "___

Bree found herself singing softly. She let Bonzo guide her hand over the mural, his way of telling her what he couldn't say, for one reason or another. Then, for a moment, he slipped his arms around her waist and gently pulled her to him, her back against his chest. She tipped her head up to look at him.

" _Know what it's like on your side  
 _How much I've missed out  
 _Forget what I thought  
 _Because I'm ready to know_ "___

He grabbed her hand again and they left the light garden, Zed and Addison too lost in their own song to notice. Bonzo took Bree further down the hall, where it was more secluded. After that first night when he had spent hours painting, he would come back to the power plant after curfew if ever things were getting to be too hard at home, but he didn't want to, or couldn't, disturb the others. The quieter, more out-of-the-way areas were a better place for his venting. And safer – this led to the zombies' escape route in case the patrol showed up.

" _I bought everything they sold me  
 _But what was all that worth?  
 _They don't know me  
 _They don't know you_ "___

He let go of her hand and Bree walked down the dimly lit hall. She was beyond impressed but something told her there was more to these paintings than she could imagine. She looked back at Bonzo; these meant something to him. Something personal. She was always told that zombies had no feelings other than hunger and bloodlust, no thoughts other than where their next meal was coming from. They were so wrong.

" _Now I'm ditchin' all they told me  
 _They say I'll get what I deserve  
 _But now you know me  
 _And now I know you_ "___

Bonzo slowly made his way towards her and Bree stood, entranced, as he took her hand and laced their fingers together.

" _All at once  
 _I'm starting to see it, I'm starting to feel it  
 _All at once  
 _It's getting clearer now, where we can both fit  
 _Here, now  
 _Somehow  
 _It'll work out  
 _And everyone will know  
 _Me, know you  
 _They're gonna know  
 _Me, know you  
 _I'm gonna know_ "___________

Bonzo's other hand carefully caressed her cheek and Bree froze.

He was staring at her again.

It was instinct. She took a step back, out of his grip, and dropped her head so her hair fell over her glasses. With a sympathetic sigh, Bonzo stepped forward and tilted her chin up, brushing her hair aside. She went to stop him but he only shook his head and tucked her hair behind her ear, exposing her glasses completely.

"Zon," he muttered, "Ru zrugra."

 _You're beautiful._

His thumb brushed against her cheek and she couldn't resist leaning closer. They're eyes fell shut.

"Zombie patrol, everybody out!"

They were plunged into darkness and screams came from the main hall. Bonzo turned away from Bree and tightened his grip on her hand. A second passed and he brought her nearer the wall. Bree had never experienced anything like this before. Soon, a horde of zombies were running past them and Bree pressed her back against the wall but Bonzo pulled her along with them.

"Wait...! Addy-"

She was cut off as another zombie dashed by and caused her to stumble. Bonzo steadied her then glanced around. He couldn't waste time but he wanted to at least calm her fears as best he could. He spotted someone among the fleeing zombies.

"Zedka!"

Zed spun round.

"Bonzo!"

Bree couldn't see Addison with him, though.

"Where's Addy?"

Zed's face fell. He turned back towards the light garden but his path was blocked by the others running to safety. In the end, Bonzo took hold of his arm and pulled both of them down the hall to the hidden escape route. Addison was the chief's daughter, they'd most likely go easy on her. He hated to leave her behind, but it was too big of a risk to go back. And he wasn't going to let Bree go anywhere alone while she was still in Zombie Town.

Once they were all outside, Bree practically clung to Bonzo but neither of them could enjoy it. The problem now was getting Bree back home.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

Fic writing has been going so slow lately, sorry about that, but I'm getting back to it! Full update on that is on the new Limelight one-shot I posted yesterday. Anyway, this chapter is mostly just to get these scenes out of the way before the fun stuff happens in chapter 8 - the homecoming game! I'm really excited for that and I'll try get it out ASAP~

* * *

Chapter 7

Bonzo kept his arms around Bree as he looked round the corner. A few other zombies had unfortunately been caught and would clearly be spending the night in containment. Meanwhile, Bree watched the crowd of those who had gotten out safely moving back and forth across the courtyard. Names were being called out, some getting a response and resulting in hugs and sighs of relief, while a few just repeated with rising desperation. She never even knew about the zombies' curfew, let alone that they could risk being taken in by the patrol if they broke it. Bree subconsciously brought her hands to rest on Bonzo's arm and he looked down at her.

"Can you see Addy?" she asked and he glanced back again.

"Za."

"Is she OK?"

"Za, garzedd-zig."

Zed and Eliza were bickering nearby, Zoey standing between them with an irritated expression. The little girl obviously just wanted to go home now.

"You left her there? Right when I'm actually starting to like this girl, you abandon her-"

"I did not abandon her! I thought she'd be right behind me, OK?"

"How in the hell was she was supposed to know what was going on?"

"I don't know, I wasn't thinking."

"Y'know, I'm starting to believe you've given up on thinking entirely," Eliza huffed and gestured towards Bonzo and Bree, "I mean, Bonzo managed to get _his_ human out here!"

Zed glared at her, as did Bonzo, not particularly happy with the way she had referred to Bree. However, Bree could only blush. After all, she'd been entertaining the idea that Bonzo was "her" zombie, which had to mean she was "his" human, right?

"Breeska? Grodge?"

She blinked as Bonzo's voice stirred her from her thoughts.

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, but," she took a glimpse around the corner and saw the jeeps driving away, "How am I gonna get out of Zombie Town?"

Bonzo cautiously stepped out, double-checking that the coast was clear, before taking Bree's hand, "Zo, grik." _Come on, quickly._

They kept close to every wall and fence they could as they crept closer to the barrier, keeping behind the patrol and out of their sight. The difficult part was making sure Bree could make it out of the gate before it closed behind them without being caught. Bonzo kept his eyes fixed on the guard at the entrance waiting to close it, but Bree's attention was on him. He had one arm out, gently pressing her to the wall while he stood watch so that she was hidden behind him and she couldn't help staring. He was so determined to keep her safe. Carefully taking her hand, he pulled her a little closer to the gate as the last jeep rolled out then paused as the guard took a quick glance back into Zombie Town. Bonzo had to think fast and he picked up a small rock from the ground to throw over the wall. They heard a metallic clang as it landed and guard's head snapped round to the direction of the noise. She stepped away from the gate, shining a flashlight and calling out a warning. Bonzo took the opportunity to push Bree forward and she slipped through the other side, away from the guard, but not before shooting Bonzo a grateful smile and blowing him a kiss. He breathed out a soft laugh and bit his tongue. For a moment, he waited, just in case the guard had seen Bree, but the gate soon slid shut and he couldn't hear anything from the other side. All seemed well, so he finally turned and headed back to the power plant.

Bree was cautious as she moved past the patrol jeeps, all too aware of the innocent zombies sitting inside, plus her best friend. There wasn't much she could do about it, though; even if she had been able to open the doors herself, they were already driving away. She didn't realise she had stopped to watch them until she heard the guard.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, kid?"

"Uh, I-I..."

"You can't be hanging around here, especially not at this time of night. Now go on, get yourself back home. Save whatever prank you're looking to pull for school."

"Y-yes, ma'am..." Bree said, letting out a long breath as she turned away.

She was almost home when her phone rang and she picked up immediately when she saw the caller ID.

"Addy? Are you OK?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing! What happened, where are you?"

"I'm walking home. Bonzo helped me get out in one piece. What about you? Did the patrol catch you?"

"Yeah, but it was Gus, he's one of the officers I kinda know. He went easy on me and just took me home. But then my parents found out I snuck out with a boy and they're insisting they meet him or I can't cheer! Can you believe that?"

"You didn't tell them he's a zombie, did you?"

"No way am I risking that, but I guess they'll find out pretty soon," there was the sound of fabric rustling and Bree guessed she had flopped onto her bed, "What am I supposed to do? We have the cheer championships coming up, _and_ the homecoming game before that. I can't _not_ be there!"

"We'll figure it out. I am _not_ letting you miss the championship. I seriously doubt Bucky is gonna put me in and _one_ of us has got to be there."

Once she got home, Bree excused herself to her room saying she was tired and heading straight to bed, but the only thing on her mind was helping Addison. She really didn't have much time if she wanted to do something before the homecoming game tomorrow, but the smallest thing could at least be a step in the right direction. It was then she got an idea and quietly opened her bedroom door. Her parents were both downstairs and she could hear the TV so they wouldn't hear her. She went to their bedroom to begin her search and after a little while, she found what she had been looking for – a pastel pink suit. It was tucked away at the back of a shelf in the closet and belonged to her dad. He was a pretty tall man, and had been tall as a teenager, too. She just had to hope Zed was around the same height.

She really didn't want Addison to have to miss out on the game, and definitely not the competition, but she might have had her own motives in mind, as well. If Addison and Zed had a better chance of being together, that could be good for her and Bonzo.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bree saw Zed before she saw Addison the following morning at school. Bonzo, unfortunately, was nowhere in sight but she could always catch him in the cafeteria or outside the music room, so long as Bucky didn't see them. She had a minute to spare before the bell and hurried over.

"Zed, wait up!"

He stopped and turned to her, looking confused.

"Bree? If you're looking for Bonzo, he had to stop by the music room before class."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you," she didn't give him a chance to question her, "Have you talked to Addison since last night?"

"No, I don't really have any way to contact her."

"Not a problem. Here," she took the wrapped-up suit from her bag and shoved it into his hands, "That'll come in handy, trust me."

The bell rang and Bree groaned.

"What's in here?"

"Just something that'll make you look a little more Seabrook," she said, already backing away, "It won't help everything but it's a start. You'll understand once you talk to Addy."

And with that, she ran off, leaving Zed looking puzzled.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bonzo was restringing his guitar when his Z-band beeped with a message from Zed.

 _I'm coming over. Do NOT let your parents answer the door._

He frowned down at his wrist and typed out a reply.

 _Why not?_

 _Just don't._

He looked between the screen and the guitar. It was frustrating to have to stop halfway through something and he just stood for a second before letting out a childish whine. He should get downstairs before Zed arrived just to be sure neither of his parents reached the front door before him. He was at the bottom of the stairs when the knocking came and his dad appeared at the living room door.

"Ag grep." _I got it._

He opened the door and immediately took a step back, stunned at the sight before him. Zed stood there wearing a pastel pink suit, with his hair black and _colour in his cheeks_. Now Bonzo was scared.

" _Zedka?_ "

"I know," Zed said through gritted teeth and Bonzo looked down to see he was holding his Z-band-clad wrist, "Just let me in and I'll explain."

Bonzo grabbed his arm and dragged him through the door.

"Is that Zed?" his mom called from the living room and he quickly went to stand in the doorway so they wouldn't see him escaping upstairs.

"Za. Agz briz grozig." _Yeah. We're busy with something._

They didn't seem interested in an explanation, as usual, and he followed Zed back to his room. Once he closed the door, he couldn't do anything but just look at what his friend had apparently done to himself. Bonzo didn't talk much to begin with but now he was completely speechless.

"Zedka..." he stopped himself, shaking his head, "... Zed _ska_?"

"This isn't the time to be joking around, Bonz!"

"Zon zraff! Ru Zed _ska_ ," _I'm not joking! You're a_ human, "Gozay?" _How?_

"With the Z-band hack. Swiping left gives me the zomboost. Swiping right does this. But it's only temporary. Addy's parents won't let her cheer until they meet me and they hate zombies."

"Zu Addiska...?"

"Yeah?"

"Jag ag... zu Breeska?" _Should I... for Bree?_ "Grag garzalk Elizaka." _I could talk to Eliza._

"You don't need to. Bree's parents don't know about you, so you've got nothing to worry about. Aaaand..." Zed looked away, cringing, "Eliza kinda specifically told me _not_ to swipe right."

"Goreez zon?"

"She said it could corrupt the software or something."

Bonzo's face went blank.

"Zonzrar." _You're an idiot._

Zed returned his blank look but then flinched and gasped in pain, grabbing his wrist again.

"Gozig?"

"The band shocks me now, instead of the pulses. I guess that's how it keeps my heart beating."

The thought of a regular heartbeat made Bonzo shudder. He couldn't understand how humans lived with that.

"Zazig zonzrar."

"Yeah, yeah, can we move on? I need help getting out of Zombie Town. I can't let anyone see me like this, especially not Eliza."

Bonzo sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Besides, if things work out for me and Addison, it's only gonna be easier for you and Bree, right? Y'know, she gave me this suit. I'm pretty sure she's thinking the same thing."

He was surprised by that. "Zazig?"

"Yeah! Come on, Bonz. Things are gonna get so much better soon, I can feel it."

"Ru egrall droz grog. Greh, durg gezer zongro."

 _You always say that. Then it gets worse._

Zed just scoffed, "Whatever, are you gonna help me get into Seabrook or not? You managed to get Bree out."

"Za, bak Breeska gral." _Yeah, but Bree's tiny_.

"Oh, like you can talk about height."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

I told you I'd get the next chapter out quick~! (For once) Ahem *Principal Lee voice* Alright, Mighty Shrimps, today's the day we've all been waiting for, it's the homecoming game! ... You know what's gonna go down here ;) I'm planning on there being two more chapters after this, that should cover up until the end of the movie. I've been considering going back to the original Another Girl, Another Zombie one-shot collection and doing some more little Bronzo ficlets if I can think of them. Would you guys be interested in that...? Let me know~

I know the series fic has been dead lately, I've got the basic plot of episode 4 figured out but I haven't been able to stretch it out into a long enough story to fill an episode. I'm working on it, I swear! There's plenty of Limelights in the works, a very angsty Limelight AU centred around Alonzo and Zephyr (I'm literally only making it an AU cuz it's so dark I don't want it to be on the actual "canon" BG zombies timeline), I've finally come up with a few more BtB ideas and I really want to write that Bucky one-shot/character study-type-thing as well. There's a lot of stuff coming! Anyway, let's get back to Bronzo...

* * *

Chapter 8

Zed successfully made it out of Zombie Town without arousing suspicion but Bonzo was still worried. His friend was flinching and hissing in pain every few minutes from the shocks of his Z-band, but he refused to give up. Bonzo, for once, couldn't be the optimistic one in the situation. He hugged Zed goodbye before he set off for Addison's house and wished him luck – he sure as hell was going to need it. Bonzo headed for school alone, where Eliza was already waiting by the football field.

"Hey," she greeted as he walked over, "Where's Zed?"

"Addiska."

She rolled her eyes but smiled. She really was warming up to Addison.

"Right. Stupid question. So, are you gonna spend the whole game drooling over Bree again?"

Bonzo scowled and stuck out his tongue, making her laugh.

"Gry." _Shut up_.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

"Take your pom-poms out there today, Bree!"

Bree frowned in confused and glanced back at Addison, who was fixing her hair for her. The cheer lounge was filled with chatter as the squad went about preparing for the big game.

"But I'm not a starter."

"Who says?" Addison gave her an encouraging smile, "It's time things changed around here."

She grinned back. Judging from Addison's positive attitude, her date with Zed had gone exceptionally well. Bree was still slightly confused what she had meant when she said Zed had temporarily turned himself human. Bonzo had seemed so stressed out over the Z-band hack but if it could do that, and it helped them make that little bit more progress, what was there to be scared of?

She'd find out soon enough.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

The game was almost over and the Mighty Shrimp were still down by five when the coach called for a time out. What happened to their winning streak? Maybe Bonzo had been onto something after all. But it couldn't be that bad, could it? The cheerleaders snapped to attention and turned towards the crowd.

"Be aggressive, let's be aggressive!"

Bree took this chance to scan the faces before her for Bonzo and it didn't take long to spot him. He was sitting beside Eliza, watching her and clapping along with the squad's chanting, and she smiled back at him. Then she noticed Addison was no longer by her side. She frowned, turning to her left to see Addison talking to an exhausted-looking Zed on a nearby bench. Bucky had caught sight of her as well, though.

"Addison!" he called, but she didn't budge. Instead she placed a hand on Zed's shoulder and said something that made him smile. Bucky gritted his teeth and Bree decided it was best to just keep cheering, " _Addison!_ "

She finally returned and stood in front of the squad, looking up to the mass of expectant faces.

"Give me a 'Zom'!"

"Zom!" Bree giggled and clapped her pom-poms together. She looked back at Bonzo, excitedly cheering along with everyone else, but Bucky wasn't having it.

"Addison..." he said in a warning tone.

"Give me a 'Bie'!"

"Bie!"

Bucky was in front of her now, waving a hand in indication for her to stop.

"You are way too good of a cheerleader to throw your life away, Addison."

He thought this was throwing her life away? When was he going to understand there was something more important than cheer going on here?

"I'm cheering for a change," Addison shoved him backwards, " _Bucky_."

Gasps, whispers and chuckles rippled across the squad and Bree nodded, feeling proud.

"Don't do it."

Bucky glared at her but Addison just took up her position once more.

"Give me a 'Zom'!"

"Zom!" Bree joined in, earning some looks of disgust and betrayal from her fellow cheerleaders, but she didn't care anymore. Not even when Bucky turned to her as well. She held her head high and shrugged at him.

"Addison."

"Give me a 'Bie'!"

"Bie!"

"I'm warning you."

"What does that spell?"

"Zombie!" Bree's voice was heard above anyone else's.

"Last chance!"

" _What does that spell?_ "

"You're off the team, you _freak_!"

 _Then so am I._ Bree rushed forward.

"Go, zombies! Go, Zed!"

Up in the stands, Bonzo felt that rare thud in his heart and let out an enthusiastic yell. Even Eliza joined in and punched the air. Bucky, however, looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"You're off the squad, too!"

Bonzo frowned and stopped for a moment but then Bree shook her head, completely indifferent, and hugged Addison.

She just gave up her dream to support the zombies. There was another thud and Bonzo bit his tongue, unable to stop the grin stretching across his face. Maybe Zed was right, and things really were getting better.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bonzo quickly came to doubt that this was going to work out. Watching from the stands, he saw Zed swipe a finger across the screen of his Z-band then pause and mutter something to himself. He lifted his head to lock eyes with Eliza and she took the hint. Her own Z-band's screen was frozen, showing nothing but an odd icon neither of them had seen before; a green monster face. Bonzo tapped his band's screen but got the same result.

"The software's been corrupted. How..?"

Bonzo's head snapped up. He knew exactly how.

"Agru, za?" _It's him, isn't it?_

Eliza stood, eyes on the field, "Zed, what did you do?" she turned back to Bonzo with frightened eyes, "Do you know something about this?"

"... Magra..." _Maybe._

" _Bonzo...!_ "

For the next few seconds, Bonzo couldn't take his eyes off Zed. Something was going to happen. Something bad. Something _horrible_. The other team's players dived on top of Zed but they were too late, he'd already made it over the line.

"Touchdown! And Seabrook wins the game!"

He couldn't be happy. Eliza couldn't, either. This was the calm before the storm.

Suddenly, the humans pressing Zed to the ground were thrown off of him and took off running, as did the referee, and Zed clambered to his feet. He prized off his helmet, panting and... growling?

Bonzo could see the dark veins bulging along his arms from where he was sitting. He almost stopped breathing. His Z-band had gone offline and his zombie instincts would be kicking in, set on finding the nearest human to sink his teeth into. The Z-alert started blaring.

Everything seemed to happen in an instant. The loud siren, the screaming that surrounded him, the noise was already far too much for Bonzo to process and he had to rely on Eliza to lead him down the steps to something that might resemble safety, and perhaps to Zed, if they could find a way to help him. But then the steady, familiar buzz of his Z-band went quiet, the metal went cold and with no electromagnetic current flowing into his body, Bonzo's mind went blank, and all he could do was observe the chaos with no control over his actions.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

This couldn't be happening. It had been going so well. The humans and the zombies were finally getting along. How could it end up like this?

Bree had lost sight of Addison and was left disoriented by the blind panic. When she managed to calm her breathing and focus, she looked around only for the Aceys to come racing past her in a blur and what they were running from made Bree stop in her tracks. Arms that she had felt safe and secure in before were now shaking, muscles flexed, with dark veins pulsating beneath the skin. Once warm and friendly eyes were now cold and soulless, sunken into deep dark circles. Lips that had blown her kisses and smiled at her and told her she was perfect were pulled back in a fierce snarl. And with Bree stricken with fear, practically stuck to the ground, Bonzo had found a much better victim than any of the Aceys. As had Eliza, stalking towards her right in front of him.

"Please..." she whimpered, "Come on, guys, you know me... W-we're friends, aren't we...?"

She slowly backed away, praying that she might be able to get through to them. Bonzo reached forward and pushed Eliza aside, making her stumble but not quite stopping her. He surged past her.

"Bonzo...!" Bree's voice cracked painfully.

He growled, edging closer and closer, but then his right hand moved to grab his left wrist, seemingly of its own accord. His nails clawed and groped at the band there but nothing worked, the rest of his body was much stronger than one hand. To Bree, though, it was a glimmer of hope.

"Bonzo, please."

Eliza reached for her and she screamed, prompting Bonzo to forcefully ram Eliza aside. They didn't notice the team from the zombie patrol approaching from behind, two of them with large tasers in hand, until the devices were pressed against their backs and the electric shock left them crumpled on the ground. Bree stood in a daze as the officers bent down to pull their arms behind them. Bonzo raised his head, breathing heavily and not quite meeting Bree's eyes. His face showed no emotion whatsoever, while Eliza had her eyes squeezed shut and was biting her lip, trying not to cry. They both looked so vulnerable now, a stark contrast to what they had been mere seconds ago.

"Bonzo!"

She started towards him but an officer blocked her path.

"I'm sorry, it's not safe for a civilian to approach them right now. They'll be taken into containment."

"What?"

They were already handcuffing them, bringing them to their feet and marching them away. Bree had to just stand there and watch.

"Wait, stop! Please, just let me talk to him...!"

She began to chase after them but then Eliza dug her feet into the ground and refused to budge. She tried to glare at Bree but there were tears stinging her eyes.

"He's not going to talk to you! He can't! He's autistic, OK? He's hurting too much, he's shutdown," her voice shook and Bree blinked, looking from Eliza to Bonzo and back again, "You think you know him at all and you don't even understand probably the most important thing about him!"

Bonzo's face remained still and he kept his eyes on the ground. Everything fell into place and it all made sense now. Bree wanted nothing more than to hug him close and tell him it would be OK, tell him she cared about him and that she was there for him. But he was as far from OK as he could possibly be. He was being arrested.

Zed appeared then, held by an officer Bree guessed must be Gus and quickly followed by a desperate-looking Addison.

"Hey, these are my friends!"

"We don't _have_ human friends!" Eliza's voice was weak and choked up.

"We told you, Addy, zombies are not safe!" the chief said and Bonzo's gaze dropped to the ground then, "Give them an inch..."

"And they'll bite your face off!" Mayor Missy finished and his eyes came back up to Bree.

He stared blankly at her, unable to express how much pain he was in. Then just like that, he was being taken away from her.

Bree could only watch helplessly as he and Eliza were escorted to the patrol jeep waiting for them. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and she had to remind herself to breath. No matter what had just happened to her, no matter what Bonzo could have done in that moment, she couldn't be scared of him, not ever. But _for_ him...

That boy had only ever been a beacon of light in her life ever since they met. He was one of the few people who hadn't judged her for being imperfect. He had shown her the truth about the zombies. He trusted her – Eliza could say whatever she wanted, but Bonzo had tried to tell her about his autism. He just couldn't find the words. And despite the coldness of his skin, Bree always felt warm when he touched her. He was warm. He was _her_ warmth. True, she was terrified when they were stalking towards her almost like animals, but it was his lack of control and consciousness that scared her the most. The fact that he was in such a state that he was barely aware of what he was doing.

Yet he stopped Eliza, and tried so hard to stop himself.

She could have been dead.

She _should_ have been dead. She should have been ripped to pieces, her brains devoured in the most horrific and gruesome way. That was the outcome that everything she had raised to believe about zombies pointed to, but here she was. Bree stood frozen to the spot, her eyes fixated on the back of Bonzo's head as he was shoved forward, handcuffed as if he was some kind of criminal. As if it was _his_ fault. He stumbled slightly and Bree fought back the urge to run to him. Then he turned his head and looked at her.

Her heart shattered.

He was broken. Completely. And utterly. Broken. His eyes desperate and pleading and _sorry_.

The officer jerked him back around, forcing him to tear his eyes away, and Bree had to at least be grateful he wasn't going to see her cry for him. Addison had come to stand beside Bree and the two friends held tightly to one another, both seeking and providing the comfort they needed. It couldn't end like this. Addison eventually broke away, glaring at the crowds of humans who found it so easy to suddenly turn on the zombies once more, who were now booing and taunting away the remaining zombies among them. Then she was shouting at them.

"He was your monster! You made him feel like he had to risk his life to belong!"

It tipped Bree over the edge and she couldn't hold in her own anger any longer, "You just wanted them around for your own satisfaction! Just so you could win. They were nothing but a fad to you, weren't they? Did any of you even _try_ to get to know them?"

Meanwhile, Addison had turned away. Bree left the crowd with a disapproving glare and walked over to her. Addison seemed to be lost in thought, holding back tears for as long as she could. Eventually, though, she lifted her head and, surprisingly, smiled at Bree.

"I'm gonna do something reckless."

She took a few steps back towards the bleachers and Bree watched, curious as Addison took a breath and ripped off her wig. The hair underneath it was white as fresh snow, as much a genetic disgrace to Seabrook's standards as the zombies' green hair, and she accepted the cruel looks and boos and rude gestures she received with pride. Bree beamed, feeling nothing but joy for her friend. Until, that is, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She craned her neck to look round the corner and found the Aceys speaking with a man on the zombie patrol. Lacey handed over a familiar object to him and Bree gasped.

Eliza's computer.

Eliza had hacked both Bonzo's and Zed's Z-bands before, and most likely her own, too. And it was obvious she'd have to use her computer to do it. That explained everything; the Aceys stole the computer to access the Z-bands and somehow disable them. All in the name of cheer. She had to be just a little glad she wasn't on the squad anymore, if it meant she was free of hanging around those three. A small part of her did regret her decision, but she had to think of the bigger picture here. Maybe there were more important things than cheer, even in Seabrook. She returned to Addison's side.

"You know what this means, right?" she raised an eyebrow, "You can't ever go back to being perfect again. They all know your secret now."

Addison shrugged, "Perfect's overrated, anyway."

"Welcome to the club," Bree said with a smile, "And just so we're clear, I stand by what I said before. Your real hair is beautiful."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

I'm really sorry this has taken so long to update...! The Zephzo angst AU (Tattooed Mistakes) based off Limelight should be starting on Halloween~ I've been focused on getting the Limelight one-shots out that provide the build-up to that but I want Another Way to be finished before then, so expect the final chapter very soon! And maybe I'll be able to return to the series fic in a short while...

Kind of a short chapter today, but some Good Bonzo stuff nonetheless. Friday is Bonzo Day. At least on Tumblr it is

There's some references to the Beyond the Barrier one-shot Closed Doors in here. Bonzo's full "conversation" with his parents is in that~

* * *

Chapter 9

Three days.

Three days in zombie containment. And Bonzo barely spoke a word the whole time. This was possibly the worst shutdown he had ever experienced, and being separated from his friends only made it worse. He had no comfort, no distraction, no music to listen to, no paints or paper or fabric, nothing to stim with and ground him. And no Bree.

 _Breeska..._

He could barely remember the incident. The only thing he had been thinking about at the time was... _brains_. He didn't know what it meant that he decided Bree was the perfect victim, but he wasn't going to let himself consider that she was his first thought in that situation could be a good thing. That wasn't a moment where he should be thinking of her. Once he had been shocked into sentience by the zombie patrol's taser, he immediately regretted everything. It hadn't even been his fault, but that didn't matter when he had come so very close to hurting Bree. He dreaded to imagine what might have happened if the patrol didn't show up when they did. Even so, he knew he didn't deserve to be there, locked in a cell in Seabrook's zombie containment facility. He couldn't blame Zed, either. He may not have listened to Bonzo's warnings against adjusting his Z-band, but it was the cheerleaders who pushed them off the deep end, manipulating and stealing from Eliza to do it. And there was nothing they could do about it now.

Bonzo sat there alone for three days. He didn't even look at the patrol officers who would come in for their regular inspections or to bring him food, which he couldn't even eat half the time. It wasn't right.

Nothing was right.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

"Cheerleaders steal my computer, sabotage everything, yet zombies get the blame," Eliza ranted, Zed staring at her and Bonzo looking down. He still hadn't spoken, but at least he was with them again and he could follow their conversation well enough, "It was stupid of us to think humans were gonna change."

 _No, it wasn't. Some of them did change._

"You know what? We tried doing it the nice way, now it's time to do it my way, alright? We'll have a zombie uprising!"

 _That could make things worse._

"Force them to make us equal or we tear it all down."

 _And make them even more afraid of us._

"I've been waiting my whole life. I'm sick of waiting."

She stormed off, into her mother's welcoming arms. Bonzo swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded to Zed, patting his back as he turned away. He didn't even want to be hugged right now, it would only overwhelm his still-fragile senses. He watched as Zed's dad hurried outside to berate his son, quickly holding him close. That anger came out of love and concern.

Why couldn't Bonzo's home have that same warmth?

There was no-one waiting to greet him outside when he arrived. Their son had been gone for three days and they didn't even come to the front door. And he hadn't expected them to. Inside, there was no welcome home hugs, no relief in their voices, just demanding details and judging his every flaw.

"What happened?"

" _English_ , please, Bonzo. You have a working Z-band, you can speak English."

"Look at your mother when she's talking to you."

"Don't ignore me."

"Stop making excuses."

" _A zombie cannot have autism._ "

There was no way he'd be able to talk to them like this. He retrieved his art case from upstairs and left the house. He didn't go far, not even past the end of the driveway, and went to work venting out his frustrations in another art project. The one good thing he took from the conversation was that he had found his voice again, though he was still just semi-verbal, so when Zed appeared, at least he could talk a little with him.

"Sorry I dragged you into this mess."

"Gra'zon ru grep." _You couldn't help it._

Bonzo hugged Zed tightly, letting go and changing his position when he accidently squeezed his injured arm too hard, then put on his mask again and turned back to the piece he was working on. So far, it wasn't much more than a large wooden block spray-painted white, and not even completely white yet. He picked up the can to continue and Zed watched.

"What's it gonna be?"

Bonzo's voice was slightly muffled by the mask but Zed managed to make out what he was saying, "Zon garzedd-zig, zet," _I still don't know_ , "Magra, grozig zer-garzand?" _Maybe something to do with Z-bands?_

Zed looked away.

"Zon ru bragan. Grep, greh." _I don't blame you. It just helps._

He kept working in silence with Zed observing until the base coat was done, then it would have to stand and dry for a while. He tugged the mask down so it hung around his neck and leaned back on his hands.

"Elizaka grodge?" _Is Eliza OK?_

"Not really," Zed shook his head, frowning, "I tried to talk to her but she wouldn't even let me into her room... She sounded like she'd been crying."

"Gaz..." _Wow..._

"She just needs some time."

Bonzo nodded, his eyes fixed on the ground. He sat thinking for a moment, "... Breeska, Addiska, zet," he slowly lifted his head to look at Zed again, "Agru zon zorog z'agz." _They weren't scared of us._

"Yeah..."

"Bak, zrag gezer." _But we need more._

"What more can we do now? Besides Eliza's big 'zombie uprising' idea?"

\- ANOTHER WAY –

A purge on all zombie allies. Every human who still supported them was being cut from the cheer squad. Addison had tried to talk to her cousin but he wouldn't listen. It was worse than before – Bucky was practically becoming a tyrant at this point. She slammed the door of the cheer lounge behind her and walked over to Bree.

"Any luck?"

"Nope. And he's kicked more than half the squad out."

Bree sighed and shook her head, folding her arms, "Not to insult your family, Addy, but he has lost it. How is he expecting to win the competition like this?"

"Look, at this point," Addison held up a hand, "You can insult my family all you want. Especially Bucky. I almost thought he might actually be reconsidering his feelings about the zombies after Zed stopped himself, now I don't know _what's_ going on with him."

There was a pause while they both stood, lost in their own thoughts, until Bree slowly turned back to Addison, "Do you think the boys are OK?" she asked, her voice thick with concern and Addison mirrored her worried expression.

"I hope so."

"Do you know if they're out of containment yet?"

"Yeah, I heard my dad talking on the phone this morning. The Z-bands got an update so they couldn't be hacked anymore."

"That's good, right?"

Bree knew that was a good thing, it meant there was no danger of something like this happening again, but the mention of the hack sparked her memory. Hacking the bands, through some means she didn't know of (yet), had apparently led to Bonzo learning about his autism. She had spent the last couple of days doing a little research and it really did explain so much about Bonzo – how he had panicked during the Z-alert the day they met, his extreme passion for his art and music, the adorably awkward interactions and even why he only ever spoke in Zombie despite knowing English. It felt like she'd finally unlocked that door and now she really _could_ know him, and even better, understand him.

She had to wonder how well he had managed to cope with being locked up in zombie containment these past three days. It must be hard enough for anyone just being there, but Bonzo would have had to deal with his own mental struggles on top of all that.

"I think so," Addison said, stirring Bree from her thoughts, "They should be coming back to school soon."

\- ANOTHER WAY –

"Starting tomorrow, you all will be transferred back to Zombie Town's school until further notice."

Principal Lee's voice still rang in Bonzo's head loud and clear the following morning. He and Zed had tried all day to talk to Eliza but it was like she was avoiding them. She stuck with Topaz, Zora and Lazlo instead and that alone worried Bonzo. Those three were notorious for pushing every boundary they came across, Topaz in particular, and it was obvious they had some kind of plan up their sleeves.

He was quiet as he sifted through his locker, carefully tucking away all his sheet music and trying to just be thankful he ever made it onto the music program at all. He'd had a good run and he had good memories, though nothing compared to the first time he stepped foot in the music room – with Bree. He shut the door of the now-empty locker, sighed and pressed his forehead against it, letting the pressure and the coolness of the metal calm him. Then he turned around to lean back on the lockers and looked down at the note in his hand, the last thing he had taken out: the note that Bree had Rachel pass onto him when they couldn't see each other in person. He had put it up on the back of the door as a reminder that she was always cheering for him.

 _She still is, isn't she?_

At the homecoming game, after it had all fallen apart, Bree had wanted to talk to him, to be _near_ him. Of course she was. She had to be.

Eliza hadn't shown up that morning. Bonzo slipped the note into the pocket of his art case and went to open his friend's locker. He knew her combination.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer** \- I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

And thus, Another Girl, Another Zombie: Another Way comes to and end...! I've loved this AU \^^/ Thanks to everyone who's followed and reviewed~ I'd really like to return to the original AGAZ if I can come up with more one-shot ideas on the canon timeline *^* Let's see how I do with my other fics first...

Tattooed Mistakes (the Zephzo angst AU) will be starting this weekend so make sure you're caught up on all the Zephzo and BFZ Limelights if you're gonna be reading that! It's an AU, but Limelight is still a basis~ I'll be getting back to BtB and hopefully the series fic ASAP. And go check out krut09's YouTube channel, Kreatable23, for some fic trailers she's put together for me! (And for her awesome ZOMBIES AMVs in general *^*)

Anyway, here's the Another Way finale!

* * *

Chapter 10

" _Elizaka... zagrabage."_

" _Eliza's gonna sabotage something?"_

" _Za."_

" _What?"_

" _Deh greer jadganook!"_

" _The cheer championship?"_

" _Za!"_

" _Well, come on, we gotta stop her, dude!"_

They raced out of the building together. Bonzo had been right to be suspicious when he saw Eliza with Topaz and her friends. It wasn't so much that Topaz was a bad person, she was just a little too reckless, and stubborn, for her own good sometimes.

He didn't know exactly what the device on the blueprints he had found in Eliza's locker would do but it obviously was meant to somehow interfere with the tech while Seabrook was cheering. At worst, it could cause some serious damage and at best, it could just make the zombies look even worse in the eyes of the humans.

The boys made it across town and arrived at the cheer championship. Eliza and the others would have gone round the back and their best chance at finding them was to follow their path. Bonzo stopped at the door.

"Zedka?"

"Yeah?"

"Ru garzedd-zig, grag durg agru garzedd?" _You think we can change her mind?_

"I don't know, Bonz, you know how she can get. We could hold her off but she's gonna put up a fight."

That wasn't good enough for Bonzo, though. They _had_ to convince her.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bree had hoped going to watch the cheer championship might get her mind of Bonzo a little but if anything, it only made it worse. It wasn't fair – Bucky and the Aceys were the ones to blame for destabilizing the Z-bands but did they receive any kind of punishment? No. Were they still allowed to compete? Of course. They were the stars of Seabrook. And Bonzo, Zed and Eliza were just _zombies_. And no-one else but Addison seemed to care.

Speaking of Addison, who was seated to Bree's left, her parents had been furious with her for removing her wig in front of everyone. And while it may not have been _every_ single person in Seabrook, it was still a substantial amount, and news travelled fast, especially when it came to news about people who were different. The Mayor was convinced her daughter could hurt her chances of re-election and so she and her husband refused to even be seen in public with Addison. She wasn't about to say it to either of their faces, but Bree was disgusted. This was their daughter, and her white hair was nothing but a harmless genetic condition, but all they could see was an imperfection. At least now, they weren't saying anything about her friendship with Bree, who quite literally wore her imperfection right there on her face. The girls sat far behind Missy and Dale at the competition, ignoring their judgmental looks and displaying their so-called imperfections with pride. But despite how happy that made her, Bree couldn't help the odd mix of jealousy and nostalgia she felt watching the other schools' cheerleaders. She let out a long sigh, grabbing Addison's attention.

"I've always dreamed of cheering here, just soaring in the air as the crowd roared... Flying higher than anyone's ever flown..." her voice was quiet, like she was talking to herself, and Addison could only just make out the words. But then Bree's shoulders sagged and she cast her eyes down, "That was a stupid dream."

"No! You will fly. Someday. As soon as this town gets over itself."

"Thanks, Addy," Bree smiled, "I think I can wait for someday, though. I gave that up for Bonzo and the other zombies. Until they get their shot, I won't take mine. I'm happy where I am, right here, with you, not on that stage. I'm not leaving this seat!"

Addison laughed, placing a hand on Bree's arm and pointing towards her parents, "My dad's whole patrol couldn't get me out of this seat!"

A few seconds passed and Bree heard a familiar voice coming from several feet below them, speaking in an unmistakable language though she couldn't quite catch the words. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and she looked at Addison.

 _He's here?_

Then a second voice answered, "I dunno, Bonzo, she has to be here somewhere!"

 _And Zed?_

Now Addison returned her look. They both looked over the railing just in time to see the boys run underneath the stands.

"Um..." started, her expression slightly nervous, "... I'm gonna leave my seat..."

Bree's face broke into a grin, "Good, because so am I!"

\- ANOTHER WAY –

"No, no, no, put that away! Stop! Everybody, stop!"

Zora and Lazlo backed off almost as soon as Zed and Bonzo appeared, Topaz following when Zed shouted and Eliza only ceasing her work when Bonzo lifted her off the ground.

"Get off of me, you big lug!"

"Eliza, you can't do this."

"What?" she asked innocently, "Enjoy the cheer championship with some fellow zombies?"

Bonzo practically growled in her ear, " _Zagrabage!_ "

"Sabotage?" she actually sounded shocked and Bonzo dropped her, "Wow, I'm... _deeply_ offended, I would never!"

 _... Wouldn't you?_

Eliza looked back at him with a bright, smug grin, almost like she'd read his thoughts.

"OK, maybe just a little sabotage!"

Bonzo and Zed both rolled their eyes.

"Ruining the cheer championship is only gonna prove their worst fears," Zed was saying but Bonzo was distracted; Bree and Addison were making their way over, "That zombies are monsters."

"They think that anyway!" Addison called out as she stopped beside Zed, "At least you have the guts to stand up for yourself."

"Yeah," Bree nodded, "But-"

"I say do it!"

Bree did a double-take, then quickly turned to the zombies, "OK, that is _not_ what I was gonna say."

Meanwhile, Eliza was frowning at Addison, "You agree with me?"

Bree raised a hand, "I don't."

"Well then, Bubbles, you have yet to win back my trust!"

Bree couldn't tell if she was joking or not. She noticed Bonzo shoot Eliza a glare.

Zed continued his ranting, "Sabotage isn't the zombie way! It's not who we are, it's not who _you_ are!" he paused and softened, "I'm not a monster. I'm a zombie."

Bree looked up at Bonzo and they shared a smile. Neither of them fully registered the rest of the conversation, other than that it was agreed that sabotage was _not_ the best plan. The group was soon moving back out to watch the action, seeing as it was almost time for Seabrook to cheer, but Bonzo grabbed Bree by the hand to keep her there and they were left alone.

"Breeska. Abraza, zu drozig..." _I'm sorry, for everything..._

"Hey, hey, it's OK!"

"Bak-" _But-_

"I don't blame you, Bonzo. I can't, it wasn't you. It was Bucky's fault. And you tried to stop yourself!"

Bonzo felt a small smile creeping onto his face, which fell for a moment, "Gra'zon, greh," _I couldn't, though._

"You wanted to," Bree said softly, "That's what really matters. And look, I'm fine. I'm safe, you didn't hurt me and neither did Eliza. We're fine and... and we're together now. OK?"

Bonzo couldn't do much more than nod with a light, shaky laugh, then pull her into a grateful hug. They held onto each other for a few seconds, appreciating the moment they'd been given. She had seen him at his very worst, when he was nothing more than a mindless monster, when he could have killed her... and she still wasn't afraid of him. She trusted him.

"And... I'm glad I know about your autism now. I wanted to know you better and now I do. And I'm always gonna be happy to learn more about you."

She couldn't see his grin hugging him, but he pulled her closer to his chest and rested his head on top of hers.

Bree then led Bonzo out after the others, where they were shocked to see Bucky trying desperately to maintain his unreal level of pep while the rest of the squad was literally falling apart behind him. The crowd was booing and taunting them, and Bree suspected Bucky had never experienced that before but she wasn't sure if this was a moment for feeling satisfied or feeling sorry for him. Though it was clear what Eliza thought of it all.

"The sweetest type of sabotage: self-sabotage."

Bonzo and Bree gave each other a worried look before the music cut off and someone – a child – ran onto the stage from the audience.

"Let's go, Seabrook cheer!"

Zoey.

She was cheering her little un-beating heart out, paying no heed to the humans telling her to get out.

"What is she doing?" Bree asked to no-one in particular. A smile started to appear on Addison's face.

"She's changing things. By cheering."

Eliza scoffed, "But that's not how change works. You can't just change things with one person and a pair of pom-poms."

Bree glanced from her to Addison, "She's right..." she started to return Addison's smile, "It's gonna take more than just one person."

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bonzo stood hand-in-hand with Bree as they watched Zed, Addison and Eliza try to convince Bucky to join them. They held their breath as he looked around at the mixed group of zombies and cheerleaders, then their faces fell when he handed over his whistle.

"I can't..."

He almost sounded... regretful? Apologetic? Guilty? Bonzo couldn't quite pin it. He'd certainly lost his overly cocky attitude, but it somehow felt like there was more going on under the surface. He didn't have time to dwell on it, though, because things were already moving along. Without Bucky, they were gonna need a new captain.

Everyone's eyes went to Zoey.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

"Alright, Bonzo, can you handle the music?"

"Za," Bonzo nodded to Zed. Eliza gave him her computer and some cords she would have used had the sabotage plan carried through. Bree had the track they would be using and he would have to rush to cut it down into something that would fit their time limit while the cheer squad ran the zombies through the routine. With Bree advising him, though, he had it down in record time.

"You make it look so easy!" Bree giggled, "It's amazing."

"Gazaru," _thank you_ , Bonzo smiled at her and she smiled back before they noticed the others were moving again, "Grog. Grodge zugrak." _It's time. Good luck._

She hurried away and as he watched her go, Bonzo felt a flutter in his chest. He was falling for her more and more with every conversation.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Bucky had made a fast comeback, it seemed, and had a change of heart. Enough of a change of heart that he gave up his spotlight to Bree. Near the end of the routine, he and Addison pulled her to the back of the stage and Bonzo, watching from the wings, lit up with pride at the joy on her face. When she was tossed into the air, he couldn't resist. He had to run out there to catch her.

Bree gasped at the feeling of one more pair of arms than before, especially when they didn't actually let go of her after she was back on the ground. She spun round to find Bonzo gazing down at her with a warm smile, his hands resting on her back. Her own hands subconsciously pressed against his chest.

"... _Graceful_ , Breeska."

She swooned, feeling like she could have collapsed with how weak her knees were if he hadn't been holding onto her. On the stage. In front of everyone. Which she pretty much forgot about.

"Aw...! That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me!"

Bonzo let go of her, one hand lingering on her waist for a moment, then took her hand, twirling her around before kissing it gently. And that's when they both remembered where they were and they separated with one last longing look. Bonzo hurried back to Eliza's computer but he kept glancing up at Bree on the other side of the stage and every now and then, he caught her eye and she beamed back at him. When the routine was over, no sooner had Bonzo cut the music than Bree came running over to him and practically tackled him in a hug, leaving them both laughing.

Bree looked up at Bonzo, breathless, "... Gar-garziga...!"

Bonzo's smile grew even wider and he leaned closer, "Za?"

"Za."

"Gar-garziga, zet, Breeska."

He hugged her again and kissed the top of her head, burying his face in her hair. Bree pulled away a few seconds later and tugged on his hand.

"Come on, you had a part in this. You deserve to share the applause, too."

She led him out to join their friends.

\- ANOTHER WAY –

Not too long after the competition, Bree was back in Zombie Town, along with Addison, Bucky and a surprising number of other humans, for a block party. Bonzo and his friends had put it together, for the most part, and now he was showing her around the neighbourhood and introducing her to some of the other zombies. Paizley, who shared his love of art, Zephyr, Alonzo, Zach and Roz, who shared his love of music and were in a band together, Zeke, who had taken a huge interest in cheerleading ever since the championship and finally, Bonzo's cousin, Izabelle. She looked Bree up and down, her arms folded, and glanced at Bonzo.

"You better be ready for a whole lot of teasing, Bonz," she said, cracking a smile when he pouted and mirroring his expression, "Ru zoroz, janook?" _You embarrassed, cuz'?_ Bonzo rolled his eyes but didn't say anything and Izabelle turned to Bree, "Consider yourself lucky. Dating my cousin automatically gives you a pass. So you're alright."

She left without another word and Bree gave Bonzo a look a concern, "... What does she mean by 'a pass'?"

"Zon zorog." _Don't worry about it._

He had pointed out his own house to her but said nothing of his family other than Izabelle, turning her away and changing the subject before she could ask. Bree wasn't bothered by it, though. She knew enough about him to know she loved him. Anything else could wait until he was ready to tell her.

Bonzo grinned watching Bree interact with his friends, telling Zeke about cheer, swapping jackets with Roz and laughing with Paizley, but after a little while, Eliza approached them with an uncharacteristically shy smile. She looked at Bree first before turning to Bonzo and gesturing towards the other end of the street.

"Hey, everything's set up. You wanna go get ready?"

"Za, gazar," he nodded, "Breeska? Grodge?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Once he was gone, Eliza hesitated.

"Um... Can we talk?"

Bree nodded and Eliza gestured for her to follow her a little more out of the way. They ended up on someone's porch and Eliza composed herself.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. For trying to push you away from Bonzo. And for generally not trusting you."

"You had every reason not to trust me, Eliza. I'm a human. We've done enough to hurt the zombies, I can't expect you to forget about all that. I'm sorry I kept sticking my nose where it didn't belong. I just wanted to get to know Bonzo a little better..."

"You were trying, and that's always worth something," Eliza assured her, "I'm glad it turned out this way."

"Me too."

The tension between them was finally gone and both girls could relax. Eliza paused, giving Bree a once over and cocked her head, "Is that Roz's jacket?"

"Oh!" Bree looked down at herself and shrugged, "Yeah, Bonzo was introducing me to everyone."

"Did you meet Izabelle?" Eliza asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, and she said I got a 'pass' for dating Bonzo. And he wouldn't tell me what she meant."

Eliza raised her eyebrows and gave a low whistle, "You got a pass from Izabelle? Damn, I don't even get a full pass for being his _friend_..."

" _What are you even talking about?_ "

"You'll find out. You're gonna be seeing a lot more of the zombies from now on."

Before Bree could say anything in reply, she heard music, a song she recognised straight away.

"Well, this sounds familiar."

Eliza winked, "It's not a zombie party without _BAMM_."

Bree grinned as Eliza hopped off the porch to start the song and she quickly followed after her, joining up with Bucky and the other cheerleaders on the other side of the street. She kept her eyes fixated on Bonzo the whole time. From the dance-off, to 'roping' him in to dancing side-by-side with him, so close they were actually touching. Neither Bree nor Bonzo wanted this to end.

They'd been through so much to get to where they were now. It definitely wasn't going to end here.


End file.
